Teenagers Found Dead in Car Died By Drowning, Says Coroner
(Source: North Wales Police)
The four teenagers, whose bodies were found inside an overturned car partially submerged in water in North Wales, died by drowning according to north-west Wales coroner Kate Robertson.
Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen, Wilf Fitchett and Hugo Morris, all aged between 16 and 18, went missing during a camping trip in Snowdonia National Park, North Wales. Their last reported communication took place on the morning of Sunday 19 November.
When the teens did not return home to Shrewsbury, Shropshire, North Wales police launched a search. They found their bodies the following Tuesday inside their car, a silver Ford Fiesta. The car appeared to have gone off the road near the village of Garreg, five miles from the town of Porthmadog. It had landed upside down in a ditch, partially submerged in water. Now, Coroner Robertson confirmed that their cause of death was drowning.
She said, “The four young men were travelling in a vehicle along the A4085 at Llanfrothen when the vehicle has left the road. The circumstances of which resulted in the deaths of all four occupants. Postmortem examinations have been undertaken and the provisional causes of death provided, pending inquests.”
Following the discovery of the bodies, the North Wales police issued a request for dash cam footage from anybody who may have been traveling on the road where the accident took place, between the morning of Sunday 19 November and the morning of Tuesday 21 November.
Seeking Footage
“The collision happened on the A4085 near Garreg Llanfrothen, Gwynedd and involved a silver Ford Fiesta which was discovered on Tuesday, November 21st,” the statement says. “Sadly, the four occupants – 16-year-old Jevon Hirst, 17-year-old Harvey Owen, 17-year-old Wilf Fitchett and 18-year-old Hugo Morris were all pronounced dead at the scene.
“Police are particularly keen on obtaining dash cam footage from anybody who may have been travelling on the A4085 between Penrhyndeudraeth to Beddgelert in either direction between 11am on Sunday, 19th November and 10am on Tuesday 21st November to contact them.”
Crystal Owen, the mother of Harvey Owen, paid tribute to her son, whom she described as “a unique and special person who touched so many people along the way”, and “the most gentle soul”.
“Everyone has a funny story to tell about Harvey and its these stories that are keeping us going, making us laugh between the tears and will continue to live on,” she said. “There is never a time to lose a child but this feels so much more gut wrenching as he was literally thriving in life and had everything to live for.”
She added, “The fact that Harvey will always be 17 is unbearable to think of and even harder to accept. Please hold your loved ones tight, all the minor things we worry about are irrelevant, life is so short and can be so cruel. I’ve lost my boy, the boy I absolutely adored, and I can’t accept that I won’t be able to hold him again or tell him I love him again.”
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