Friend found missing Jamie Perkins' body 'on family walk'

A lifelong friend of a missing man has described how he found his body in a stream while on a walk with his family.

Kieron Jones told the inquest into Jamie Perkins' death how his son was on his shoulders when he noticed his dog running into a hedge and looking at him in Gilfach Goch, Rhondda Cynon Taf.

"She'd never done that before, so I went to take a look," Mr Jones said.

Mr Perkins' decomposed body was found partially submerged in a stream in Bog Lane on 1 November 2017.

He had been covered with leaves, bracken and a speaker cover.

The last confirmed sighting of Mr Perkins had been on 8 October.

"I looked over, I saw white fingers," Mr Jones said.

"I thought it was a dead sheep. At first I could see white.

"I turned to my partner and I said, 'I think I've just found Jamie'.

"I felt sick."

South Wales Police started a murder inquiry following Mr Perkins' death. Arrests were made but the murder remains unsolved.

Mr Jones told the hearing in Pontypridd, that when he found the 41-year-old's body he called his grandfather.

"I didn't want to get loads of police involved if it was an animal," he said.

"He came down, he had a look and phoned the police."

Mr Jones said the police then arrived within "five minutes or less".

Asked if he would have gone into the hedge if the dog had not behaved in that way, Mr Jones said: "No."

Earlier Mr Jones told the inquest he had known Mr Perkins all his life.

Mr Jones said the last time he saw his friend alive was two or three weeks before his death.

"I saw him in the Premier shop - he had a can of Strongbow and he was buying scratch cards," he said.

He told the hearing he found out Mr Perkins had been reported missing by his father John after a conversation with his grandmother.

The court heard Mr Jones decided look for Mr Perkins on 22 October, taking a lamp on to the mountain above Tonyrefail for about four hours overnight.

He said went out on another occasion with three other people - Luke Button, Rebecca Cook and Amanda Williams - to search for Mr Perkins.

Mr Jones said he found a bag covered in stones and two jackets on a fence. One was made by Helly Hansen, the other by Stone Island.

"We saw clothing, we didn't touch it," he said.

"We contacted the police."

The inquest continues.