Body Found In Bristol Is Missing Charlotte Bevan

A dead woman found in a gorge in Bristol has been officially identified as missing new mother Charlotte Bevan.

Ms Bevan's body was found in the Avon Gorge below the suburb of Clifton late on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old had walked out of Bristol Maternity Hospital on Tuesday wearing no coat and hospital slippers and carrying her newborn baby.

Police had earlier informed the family that a body had been found.

Elizabeth Cairncross, headteacher of Wells Cathedral School, her former school, released a statement of condolence.

She said: "We all are deeply saddened at Wells to hear of Charlotte's tragic death.

"We remember Charlotte with great affection, and our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this terrible time."

Officers have been searching the steep sides the gorge below Clifton in the hunt for the six-day-old baby Zaani Tiana.

Ms Bevan was filmed on CCTV walking out of the hospital between 8.30pm and 9pm on Tuesday carrying the baby, which was wrapped only in blankets.

Sky's Siobhan Robbins, who is in Clifton, said officers have been abseiling down the sides of the gorge and searching the undergrowth with sticks all morning.

Police have also been using sniffer dogs, horses and a helicopter in the search.

The baby's father Pascal Malbrouck told a news conference on Wednesday that he was very concerned about Ms Bevan as she had suffered from mental health problems.

Robbins said another line of enquiry is focusing on the possibility that Ms Bevan may have stopped taking medication for the mental illness because she was breastfeeding.

Ms Bevan is believed to have been suffering from schizophrenia and depression and had been sleep deprived after giving birth.

A spokeswoman for University Hospitals Bristol Trust said a review of the care Ms Bevan and her baby received would be undertaken.

"We are deeply saddened to hear the news of the death of Charlotte Bevan and offer our heartfelt condolences to her family," the Trust spokeswoman said.

"While it remains unclear as to how Charlotte died, we will be conducting a thorough review of the care Charlotte and her baby received to see if there was anything we could have done to prevent this tragic and unexplained death."

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