Handcuffed 'drug suspect' found dead in river after fleeing police

A handcuffed suspected drug offender has been found dead in a river two months after he was detained by police in Hampshire.

The 22-year-old was stopped by officers on January 12 in Southampton and was shackled. It is understood police wanted to search him for drugs when he ran away, according to the BBC.

On Sunday, a magnet fisherman discovered the his body at the bottom of the River Itchen at Woodmill, Southampton.

Police have not confirmed how near officers were to the river when they detained the man and the force have not said whether he entered the water to evade police or if he fell in.

A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: "We were called at 6.19pm on Sunday, March 17 after the body of a man was located in the River Itchen at Woodmill, Southampton.

"Identification has now taken place and we can confirm that the body is of a 22-year-old man from Southampton.

"We can confirm that he was handcuffed, having been detained by police in Southampton on 12 January.

"Initial enquiries suggest the body had been in the water for some time. The death is not being treated as suspicious at this time. An internal review is ongoing and a file is being prepared for the coroner."

Tributes and flowers have been placed at the side of the river where the man was found.

A post-mortem examination took place on Sunday and an inquest will be opened when the body has been formally identified.

A spokesman for the Independent Office for Police Conduct said: "The IOPC received a referral from Hampshire Police following the discovery of a body on Sunday, March 17.

"Following an assessment it was decided that Hampshire Constabulary should conduct a local investigation."

The River Itchen is a 28-mile long fast-flowing chalk-stream river which runs into the Solent.

It is used as a public water supply and is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest due to its high quality habitats which support a range of protected species including the water vole, otter and white-clawed crayfish.

Woodmill Activities Outdoor Centre, which is near where the body was found, describes itself as: "The only place in the UK that boasts four different types of water.

"With a placid water lake, flowing River Itchen, tidal estuary and some thrill ride white water at low tide for kayaking and canoeing."