A body found in a dock yesterday has been confirmed as a man who'd been missing for the last three months.
Police said this afternoon they believed the discovery in the waters at Morpeth Wharf, Birkenhead, was Uyapo Hayunga-Macha.
Also known as Theo, the 28-year-old was last seen in the early hours of 4 December on Beckwith Street in the Wirral town.
In recent weeks, his family had spoken publicly about his disappearance, urging him to come home, and police had launched a series of urgent appeals.
In a statement, Merseyside Police told the ECHO: "We can sadly confirm that a body believed to be that of 28-year-old Uyapo Hayunga-Macha was found in Morpeth Wharf, Birkenhead on Tuesday 9 March.
"Uyapo - also known as Theo - lived in Birkenhead, and was last seen in the early hours of 4 December on Beckwith Street.
"At this stage the death is not believed to be suspicious.
"Officers have informed the family and are supporting them, but he is yet to be formally identified.
"A post mortem examination will take place to establish the cause of death."
Emergency services rushed to the scene on the Wirral, as police and ambulance were called to Morpeth Wharf in Birkenhead.
They received reports at around 10.40am that the body of a man had been seen in the dock, which is located between the River Mersey and Egerton Dock.
Merseyside Police, Coastguard and North West Ambulance Service attended and Theo's body was removed from the water.
Earlier this month, police released new pictures of Theo and his bag in an effort to locate him.
Extensive enquiries and searches had been carried out, but there were no confirmed sightings.
Theo, who was originally from Botswana, was from Birkenhead and also had links to the Kent area.
Speaking to the ECHO in an appeal to find his missing step-son, 67-year-old Robert Wood sais: "The last time I saw him was on the Thursday evening, December 3.
"I'd gone to work for the afternoon, but at about 3.55pm I received a call from him.
"He said someone was trying to break into the flat. I was a bit confused thinking why would someone want to break into the flat? He was very anxious and agitated, but I managed to get home and when I got there he had the door locked.
"He had the chain on the door and said he was hearing voices of someone trying to break in. There was nobody there, of course, and everything was fine.
"I rang the ambulance service and they came at about 10pm. I was with Uyapo all that time, but he didn't really want to go with them.
"I said you need to, you need to get the treatment. He went into the ambulance and that was the last time I saw him."
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The 28-year-old lived with Robert and his wife and he settled into the area in September 2020, after living in Kent for some time.
Robert said: "It's been very quiet [without him]. It's been lonely, it's been strange. The atmosphere in the flat has changed."
