Hunt for Ross Haughey: Body found in Forest - latest (From Daily Echo)

4:17pm

The experienced walker and runner, who has a love for the New Forest, had not been seen since Sunday when he left his familyhome in Forgham  and said goodbye to parents to go for a walk.

4:11pm

Friends, fellow students, teachers and volunteers are at the scene in Frogham in the Forest where the search for Ross has been centred.

4:08pm

The news will devastate all those who have joined in the search for 17-year-old Ross for the last three days.

4:04pm

Brian and Penny Haughey, the parents of Ross, a pupil at Burgate School, have been informed of the development
They have asked that their privacy be respected as they come to terms with the news

4:04pm

Hampshire Air Ambulance was called to the scene in Linwood around 3pm.
Police say it is too early to say any more.

3:39pm

Students from Burgate School hope their classmate Ross Haughey will come home safe.

3:17pm

And in another development a Hampshire Police press briefing due to be held at Lyndhurst at 3.30pm has been put on hold.

3:16pm

A police helicopter is also hovering over head.

3:16pm

Hampshire air ambulance has been spotted over the Forest about a mile from the centre of the search.

3:15pm

The search for Ross Haughey has taken a new twist.

2:43pm

David told the Daily Echo how Ross is "a very private person" who is incredibly talented.
He said: "he's a good, strong runner and athlete but what always strikes me about Ross is how hard he works at everything he does."
David last saw Ross just over a week ago when they broke up for school half term holiday.

2:43pm

Pupil David Cakebread was one of the instigators and said finding Ross was a priority for everyone at school since they were informed that he was missing on Monday morning.

2:42pm

They have been given permission to leave school early so they can spend a number of hours walking in part of the New Forest as the hunt for the 17-year-old continues.

2:41pm

Students from Burgate School where Ross is studying A-levels have started to turn out to help search for him and bring him home.

1:15pm

Staff at a New Forest pub are doing what they can to ensure visitors know that Ross Haughey is missing.
On the wall, as you come through the front door of The Royal Oak in Fritham, is a large picture of the teenager so it's the first thing people see when they arrive and the last thing when they leave.
Owner Neil McCulloch, below, said that while he has been unable to join the physical search for Ross it was important to do what he could to raise awareness to drinkers and diners.

He said: "you can only support everything that the volunteers are doing out there to find Ross.
"We wish them a speedy and happy outcome to what has undoubtedly been a very worrying and stressful time."

11:57am

Those hunting Ross have such a vast area to cover...

11:56am

They say that more than 1,000 people have said they wanted to come and help.

11:55am

But organisers of a Facebook site dedicated to finding Ross say there could be up to five times that number.

11:55am

At least 200 will come from the Burgate School it was being predicted.

11:54am

Hundreds of pupils are expected to descend on Frogham this afternoon to join the hunt for the 17-year-old.

11:47am

11:09am

The pupils will be joined by members of staff and the head of the sixth form.

11:08am

Head teacher David Pover said he was happy to release students who would have been spending the afternoon doing recreational activity so there is more manpower on the ground.
 

11:07am

11:06am

Already a Twitter campaign by students to raise awareness that Ross is missing has reached 25million people, they say.

11:03am

10:56am

Last night it was 8.30pm before the final searchers had returned to base at Abbotswell car park.

Police say the area being covered is so vast that some were more than three miles away when yesterday's search was stopped because of failing light and worsening weather conditions.

10:49am

In the car park, the horses have been despatched and now volunteers clad in orange fluorescent jackets are getting team briefings before they depart.

Many of them have said they are already feeling the bitter cold and are keen to get moving to their search sites.
Equipped with maps and some walking poles they are preparing to move.

10:48am

It's started to rain a little out here in Frogham and once again there's quite low cloud and the horizon looks a bit misty.

However, the vast search for Ross, with numbers continuing to swell, will continue throughout the day, say police.

10:47am

One of those on horseback is National Trust worker Tom Hordle, below, who received a call asking for help last night.
He is out here having been released from work to help with the search which is now gripping the local community.

10:18am

They have been rallied by Hyde parish councillor Ann Sevier, below.

She is also district councillor for Fordingbridge, who said it was about "doing the right thing".

10:16am

The first of the group have pulled in to the car park where they are busy getting horses out of trailers and ready.

10:15am

Commoners and agisters have this morning arrived to help with the hunt for Ross - on horseback.

10:13am

10:08am

Friends from Burgate join in the search

10:03am

 Police want to remind willing volunteers offering to help look for Ross that they need warm clothing, strong shoes and plenty of layers.
They need to be familiar with the area and only search places they know, in groups of at least two.
Bring food and drink for while you are out and a fully charged mobile phone.

10:03am

WEATHER IN FORDINGBRIDGE THIS MORNING

Cloudy with a high of 4.5 degrees C  and possibly some rain.

If you are coming to join the search, police say you are welcome, but you must come prepared for the elements and follow safety advice.

10:01am

 Once again temperatures are very low and there is a bracing wind up here, looking out across the New Forest.

9:56am

Already there is a hive of activity as police and search and rescue volunteers arrive to give their support.

9:55am

Good morning from Abbotswell car park in Frogham where the search for Ross Haughey is about to resume.

8:57am

Community rallies round in hunt for Ross - click here

8:32am

8:31am

8:30am

Pc Spendcer said said members of the public wanting to help are most welcome - but they must arrive suitably dressed, be carrying food and water and a mobile phone and must also know the area well.

8:24am

Yesterday vast searches of the forest, stretching from Fritham to the outskirts of Bramshaw, were underway with Hantsar (Hampshire search and rescue) volunteers and specialist police teams.
Those searches will resume this morning, coordinated by police search adviser, PCMike Spencer, from Abbotswell car park in the village.

8:23am

Good morning. No news on missing Ross Haughey over night.

6:11pm

With the search being called off for the evening, we will now close down this live blog for the night.

Hopefully Ross will find his way home soon, but we will restart the live updates tomorrow should he not be found before the search resumes in the morning.

5:55pm

5:53pm

5:53pm

You can't help but admire the volunteers search and rescue team members who are here voluntarily and are not being paid but want to help find Ross.

Despite the cold and dark, they are continuing to turn out to assist.

5:28pm

5:09pm

Numbers of people wanting to help look for Ross are starting to rise here in the New Forest.

Two more search teams have just been deployed, one with a sniff dog.

The latest recruit to drive in to Abbotswell Car Park in Frogham has come from Gloucestershire.

The man, who doesn't want to be named, said an alert was sent at 2pm from Hampshire search and rescue asking for assistance and he decided to make the 70 mile journey.

He said: "You have to do what you can to help whatever the outcome."

4:45pm

4:43pm

TWO Hyde Parish councillors have just arrived in the car park to ask police if it would be helpful to bring in more volunteers on horseback.

The councillors, who wouldn't be named, said they were not important but finding Ross was the priority and hey hoped to rally a group of local horse riders to come and help if the search continues in to tomorrow.

The man and woman have spent he afternoon driving through the area helping to look for the 17-year-old.

4:31pm

Dogs help in the search for Ross.

4:12pm

The search for Ross continues

4:11pm

Two local parish councillors have this afternoon got involved with the search for Ross Haughey.

Police say the pair, who sit on a "local" council, have been out in a four by four vehicle searching near Frogham.

3:42pm

3:42pm

A helicopter joins the search for Ross.

3:24pm

Around 22 volunteers have now joined the search from Hantsar but that number is expected to swell later today as people make their way to the New Forest once they've finished work.

Among them are people who have travelled from Dorset to assist.

3:12pm

Police say they have no information to suggest Ross has left the area since he went missing on Sunday.

3:10pm

Volunteers from Hantsar, that's Hampshire Search and Rescue, were mobilised this morning to help search for Ross.
Some happened to not be working while others who have come out have been given time off by employers to help look for the teen.

3:10pm

2:44pm

When searches got underway yesterday Dorset's air support unit was in the skies looking for Ross.

They're not doing so today but that is most likely because of poor weather conditions and very low cloud.

2:40pm

2:40pm

Former Burgate School pupils who either knew Ross or his brother Max have also been out searching for hours in the cold.
They said they felt they ad to do what they could and are now going home to make flyers to distribute to local people to raise the awareness of missing Ross.

2:33pm

Police will be making financial enquiries about Ross to see if his bank account has been touched or a cash card used since he vanished.

2:27pm

It's not thought that Ross was carrying a mobile phone with him when he left his Frogham home to go for a walk on Sunday.

He was carrying a backpack thought to contain a wax style jacket and was wearing white trainers with a green flash. Have you seen him? Call police on 101.

2:18pm

Most of the sightings have been in the New Forest area although one was thought to be nearer to the Wiltshire border.

2:12pm

2:11pm

Maurice Butler continues his search for Ross.

2:00pm

Members of the volunteer search team have set to work, wearing high vis orange jackets. Police are now assembling ready to join them.

Search adviser, PC Mike Spencer, is in charge of coordinating the searches and said there is a five square km area that needs to be covered to the north and east of the village of Frogham.

1:52pm

This is the current weather forecast for the Frogham area:

1:51pm

Inspector Simon Tribe, leading the hunt for Ross Haughey, told the Daily Echo there are at least five areas which have been identified for searches.

They are being specifically targeted because the area is so vast. Nobody knows how far Ross may have walked and in which direction.

1:48pm

Police officers with specially trained sniffer dogs and Hampshire's search and rescue team are gathering at Abbotswell car park in Frogham and are preparing to start searching once again. Conditions are cold and quite misty so they have a tough job on their hands.

1:46pm

Austin Monkcom helping with the search for Ross Haughey.

1:44pm

Wendy said: "it's just awful. I can't imagine what his family are going through right now. It's an extremely worrying situation but I feel the more eyes that are out there, the more feet on the ground, the better chance of getting him home safely and quickly.

"We hope for good news today but if not we will be back here again tomorrow as you want to feel like you are dong something positive."

Wendy has this morning visited liveries around the area and asked horse riders to be vigilant and look for Ross.

1:41pm

Among those giving a helping hand is mum Wendy Monkcom who organised a local team of volunteers to search an area of the New Forest near Frogham this morning.

She knows Ross's family as her children went to the same school as him and said she felt compelled to do something when she heard he was missing.

She was joined by son Austin and around 18 local people who went out in groups of two or more to cover the vast open land around the village.

1:39pm

1:38pm

We're in Frogham where lots of people are out helping to look for Ross Haughey. It's freezing cold and getting a but rainy here but that won't deter them.

1:31pm

A member of the public on a quadbike, out searching for Ross.

1:18pm

1:10pm

Meanwhile a Twitter campaign launched by students to raise awareness has attracted more than five million people.

1:09pm

Mr Pover said he has offered Hampshire police the support and manpower of the entire school to help in the search for Ross.
 

1:08pm

Mr Pover added: "Ross is a bright young man who is academically talented. He is a modest, gentle student who has settled well in our sixth form at The Burgate with excellent effort and attendance.
Ross is known for his fitness and ability as a middle distance runner."

1:08pm

Police and specialist search teams were today stepping up the hunt for missing teenager Ross Haughey. A team from the Daily Echo are in the New Forest where this afternoon fresh searches will get under way to try and find the 17-year-old.

The head teacher of the school where Ross is studying A-levels said he and staff and students remained hopeful of his safe return.
David Pover, head of Burgate School in Fordingbridge, told the Daily Echo: "We are all concerned that Ross is currently missing. Our thoughts are very much with his family at this time."