A body has been found in the search for a missing teenage girl who was swept out to sea alongside her mother and a hero bystander two weeks ago.
Grace Keeling is understood to have fallen into the water at Withernsea, on the East Yorkshire coast, on January 2 after being hit by a wave.
Her mother, 45-year-old Sarah Keeling, and bystander Mark Ratcliffe, 67, died after bravely wading into the sea in a desperate bid to save her.
While the bodies of the two adults were found shortly after the tragedy, emergency services have been searching for Grace for the past two weeks.
Humberside Police said emergency services tried to retrieve a body, which was found among the rocks on the beach on Thursday morning, but were unsuccessful due to tide times and other conditions.
Specialist officers have informed Grace’s family and have asked people to ‘refrain from speculation’ and ‘respect their privacy’.
Emergency services have cordoned off an area of Holmpton Road and remain at the scene, police said.
Detective Superintendent Simon Vickers said yesterday’s discovery followed 13 days of ‘extensive searches’.
Sarah Keeling, 45, is pictured with her 15-year-old daughter Grace Keeling
Hero bystander Mark Ratcliffe, 67, (pictured) lost his life after trying to save Grace from the water
‘Officers and specialist teams have been working to explore every possible option in very complex circumstances to delicately recover the body,’ he added.
‘Due to tide times, conditions and the location, the recovery could not be immediately carried out and has therefore been paused until it is safe to resume.’
East Yorkshire area coroner Lorraine Harris previously told Mrs Keeling’s inquest that her primary cause of death was drowning, contributed to by head and neck injuries.
Ms Harris said Mrs Keeling was a married woman who was born in Germany, lived in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, and worked in international sales.
The coroner said Mr Ratcliffe’s primary cause of death was drowning, with chest injuries a contributory factor.
She said Mr Ratcliffe was born in Bradford, lived in Withernsea and was a retired warehouse manager.
