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Julian De Bono: Body in Ipswich river identified as missing man

Suffolk Constabulary Julian De BonoSuffolk Constabulary
Mr De Bono had been at a work event before being seen continuing back towards town

A body found in a river has been identified as that of missing Julian De Bono, police have confirmed.

Mr De Bono, 63, disappeared after leaving a work event in Ipswich on 10 December. He was last seen on Yarmouth Road in the town at about 01:45 GMT.

His body was recovered from the River Gipping at about 15:00 on Saturday.

Suffolk Constabulary said post-mortem tests found no evidence of third-party involvement and early indications of death were "consistent with drowning".

Police said they continued to investigate the circumstances surrounding Mr De Bono's death and said a file was being prepared for the coroner.

Dive team about to search River Gipping
A specialist police dive team helped the emergency services with the search of the River Gipping

Officers said the identification was "provisional" pending the full coroner's inquest proceedings.

Franstine Jones, a friend of Mr De Bono and a former president of the National Black Police Association, previously told the BBC he was "a really popular friendly guy," and well known in Ipswich.

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