A body has sadly been found in the search for a missing woman.
Joanne Jones disappeared from the Pontypridd area in Wales on October 21 sparking a huge search.
Tragically on Saturday evening, local police announced they had recovered a body in the search for the 49-year-old. Police released dashcam images earlier, which showed Ms Jones as she looked towards a camera. Then, she smiled and waved at around 10.05am on Monday. She was last seen walking on the road near the Gwynno forest, reports the Mirror.
In a statement, South Wales Police said: “Police officers searching for Joanne Jones, who has been missing since Monday, have recovered the body of a woman. Formal identification is yet to take place. Ms Jones’ family and HM Coroner have been informed.”
On Friday, chief inspector Matt Rowlands said his team had worked “tirelessly to try and establish the circumstances around her disappearance.” Multiple services, including the National Police Air Service, drones, Mountain Rescue volunteers, and specialist search dogs, were deployed in the search.
The tragic news has shocked the local community online. One person said it was a “shock to hear this sad news. Many of us, I’m sure, didn’t know Joanne personally, but knew her through the sharing of FB posts in the search for her. R.l.P Lovely Lady”.
Another one said that the news was “absolutely devastating” and said their “thoughts are with her family and friends”.
One said: “We were all hoping for a happy ending. I think it’s amazing what South Wales Police [and] the wider community of Pontypridd have done to find her. They get a lot of stick but they’ve done so well here, searching in all conditions to bring Joanne home to her family. It’s just awful it wasn’t a better outcome.”
Others said they had known Joanne personally, describing her as the “nicest person you could meet” and that “her lovely smile would light up the room”. Another described her as a “beautiful person inside and out”.
Another noted that Joanne had been on “all our minds” since it had been announced she was missing. They added: “I’m so saddened to hear this and my thoughts truly go out to her family. We were all hoping for a different outcome”.
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