Family and friends pay emotional tributes to four missing boys found dead

Family and friends have paid tribute to the four boys whose bodies were found after they went missing in Eryri. The mother of one of the boys has said that she feels she’s in a “nightmare” she wishes she could wake up from. Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen, Wilf Henderson, and Hugo Morris were reported missing after last being seen in the Porthmadog and Harlech areas of Gwynedd[1] on the morning of Sunday, November 19.

A huge search and rescue operation began in a bid to find the four teenage boys from Shrewsbury[2]. The police helicopter, coastguard, and mountain rescue teams had been scouring a wide search area in the Eryri (Snowdonia) national park around Penrhyndeudraeth as well as the Nantmor and Beddgelert areas throughout Tuesday. At around midday on Tuesday North Wales Police confirmed they had found the silver Ford Fiesta the teenagers had been travelling in during their camping trip.

LATEST: Powers to make drivers pay pollution charge on M4 and major A roads are approved in Welsh Parliament[4] At around 4.25pm North Wales Police confirmed that four bodies had been recovered from the car, which appeared to have left the road on the A4085 at Garreg near Tremadog. Superintendent Owain Llewellyn said: “At present this appears to have been a tragic accident and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the four young men at this very difficult time.

This has been an extensive search involving a number of different agencies and volunteers and this is sadly not the outcome that any of us would have wanted. We would ask that the family be afforded the appropriate privacy and respect.” Following the news, Crystal Owen, Harvey Owen’s mother, said that “nothing will make this nightmare go away”.

She took to Facebook[5] on Wednesday morning and posted: “I feel like I’m in a nightmare I wish I could wake up from but I’m not. I just wanted to say I do appreciate people’s kindness but no amount of messages is going to help me overcome this. Nothing will make this nightmare go away.”

Maddi Corfield, the girlfriend of Wilf Henderson, said in a tribute online: “I’m going to miss you forever. The sweetest and most loving boy I’ve ever known. I hope you know how much I love you, gorgeous.

Thank you for all the time you’ve spent with me… thank you for loving me endlessly. “I promise I’ll do the same for you, my sweet, sweet angel. I can’t imagine my world without you.

I’m missing you so much already, but I am going to enjoy life the way you would’ve wanted, the way that you made me feel.” The news has also devastated the communities of Gwynedd, Shropshire, and further afield. Tributes have poured in for the four boys as well as an offering of support and condolences to the families. For the latest analysis of the biggest stories sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here[6].

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 Today[7] programme on Wednesday morning Plaid Cymru’s Liz Saville-Roberts MP, who represents the Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency where the tragedy happened, paid her tribute to the boys. She said: “We all hoped that it was going to have a different ending, that it was a story of four lads that were suddenly without a phone signal, that they had gone for an adventure in the mountains. “And as time went by it became apparent that this might have a very different ending.

I think for all of us who are parents who have seen 18-year-olds go out the first time after passing their driving test our hearts go out for the families. But what I want to say is how much the community wanted this to end happily – the coastguards, mountain rescue, the police officers I know went the extra mile, and we send every sympathy out to the families who have lost these four young men.” Also speaking on BBC[8] Radio 4’s Today show Reverend Charlotte Gompertz of Oxon Parish Church in Shrewsbury described the impact this would have on their “tight-knit community”.

Rev Gompertz said: “It’s the worst news. This is not what we prayed for when we heard they were missing. It’s impacting everyone.

This is a tight-knit community where many of the young people have been at school[9] together since they were four years old. This is utterly devastating for us.” When asked if she knew some of the families she replied: “Yes, I do know some of the families – not really close but I certainly do.

As I said it’s one of those places where everybody knows everybody and certainly some of the families are high-profile folks within the community. It’s going to take a long time for us to get our heads vaguely around this tragedy.” All four of the boys were students at Shrewsbury College and were doing their A-levels.

When asked how this would affect those that attended the same sixth form college as the young men she said: “It’s a huge sixth form college – it’s the college where all the young people go around here. “My own children have been there and go there. But yes they’ve had some tragedies over the last couple of months and this will be devastating for them.

I know that they’re putting things in place, the help and support for the students, even right from this morning.”

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References

1. ^ Gwynedd (www.walesonline.co.uk)
2. ^ a bid to find the four teenage boys from Shrewsbury (www.walesonline.co.uk)
3. ^ Dedicated charity fundraiser killed in crash involving car and bike (www.walesonline.co.uk)
4. ^ Powers to make drivers pay pollution charge on M4 and major A roads are approved in Welsh Parliament (www.walesonline.co.uk)
5. ^ Facebook (www.walesonline.co.uk)
6. ^ For the latest analysis of the biggest stories sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here (www.walesonline.co.uk)
7. ^ BBC Radio 4 Today (www.bbc.co.uk)
8. ^ BBC (www.walesonline.co.uk)
9. ^ school (www.walesonline.co.uk)
10. ^ click on this link (chat.whatsapp.com)
11. ^ Privacy Notice here. (www.reachplc.com)
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