Body found on Scottish beach feared to be missing teenager Ralph Smith who plunged from cliffs
Police have informed the family of missing teenager Ralph Smith about the discovery of a body on Sunday morning
A BODY found on a beach in Angus is feared to be missing teenager Ralph Smith.
The discovery at Arbroath was made by a member of the public walking at Victoria Park shortly before 9am on Sunday.
The area has been sealed off to traffic while investigations take place.
Police confirmed that a man's body had been found and the family of had been informed of the discovery.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "About 8.40am on Sunday morning, March 26th, Police Scotland received a report from the public that a body had been discovered on the beach at Victoria Park, Arbroath.
"Officers are currently making enquiries and it is confirmed that the body of a male has been recovered.
"The identity of the male has not yet been established, but it not believed that there are any suspicious circumstances
"The family of Missing Person Ralph Smith from Dundee have been informed of developments."
The find comes one month after the 18-year-old plunged from nearby Arbroath Cliffs.
Police Scotland’s Dive and Marine Unit joined the major search and rescue effort along the Arbroath coastline.
RNLI lifeboats, coastguard rescue teams and helicopter crews were also involved, but failed to find any trace of Ralph.
The family of the teenager launched their earlier this month.
They posted a heartfelt message on social media thanking all who had been involved in the search for Ralphie.
The message read: “I just recently had the police at my door to confirm that they have found the body of a young man who they believe to be my son.
“They won’t be able to confirm this until they do a DNA test. We will be suspending all searches until this is confirmed but we are pretty certain that it’s wee Ralphie.
“I will just like to thank everyone who has been out searching continuously for our son.
“We have had 80-year-old men, people with disabilities, planes in the sky, boats in the water along with my friends and locals of all the wee towns up and down each coast line out in a daily basis.
"Hopefully this is the final chapter and we can lay him to rest and as a family grieve.
"Thanks again for, THE TEARS,THE EFFORT,AND THE HOPE
"Ralphie and family."
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The day after Ralph went missing, the stricken family lost two other relatives in a double murder.
Julie McCash and David Sorrie lost their lives as they attended a family vigil for the teenager.
Robert Stratton, 42 appeared in court charged and an attempted murder of a third person.
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