Police searching for the body of a teenager who went missing when his A-Levels were cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak have found a body.
Almost two weeks ago, Oliver Strode, 17, told his dad he was going hacking in a forest but never returned.
A body believed to be that of the missing Frensham teenager has now been found in Alice Holt Forest, Surrey Live reports.
Police made the discovery in the forest near Farnham at around 2pm yesterday, 11 days after Oliver was reported missing.
Officers said that formal identification is yet to take place, but confirmed it is "believed to be that of Oliver Strode".
His family has been informed.
A spokesman for Surrey Police said: "Although formal identification is yet to take place, Oliver’s family are aware and are being given the appropriate support.
"Our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time.
"Enquiries remain ongoing to establish the circumstances of the death, although it is not believed to be suspicious or that there is any third party involvement at this time.
"We would like to thank everyone who shared our appeal and assisted with the search."
Richard Strove believes his son may have fallen into despair when he discovered his qualifications could be decided on his mock exam results in which he did not do well.
The 48-year-old said: "He had just had his A-levels cancelled, not done his best in his mocks and with corona, probably last day of school. No plan to go to uni, so what does the future hold – despair?
"Despite going unprepared, he is pretty resourceful. Recently he has been practicing his old techniques, perhaps for a reason - so maybe this isn't so much corona self-isolation on steroids as time to spend alone in nature and test his abilities to survive from a starting point of zero Ed Stafford style.
"At this stage having had a look at a couple of those videos tonight I think he could well be alright."
It was previously reported that Oliver's family suspected he may have gone missing on purpose so he could have a go at surviving in the forest after it was revealed he had recorded a series of “Bushcraft Bible” videos on how to survive in the wild.
