The grieving family of a missing man drank water from a reservoir where his decomposing body laid undiscovered for half a year.
Glen Godfrey, 38, was first reported missing by his mother Denise, on December 22 last year, 18 days after he was last seen.
Surrey Police assured the family that his body was ‘100 percent not in the water’, saying divers had searched the King George VI Reservoir in Staines, Surrey.
However, his body was discovered in there by a Thames Water employee, six months after his disappearance, on May 13.
The reservoir, which is situated near Heathrow Airport, is owned by the water firm and supplies drinking water to Londoners across the capital city.
Now his heartbroken cousin, Amy, has blasted the ‘dismissive’ police force, claiming her family and community had been drinking the water from the same reservoir.
She also alleged recovery experts told the family Glen was definitely not in the water, as he would have emerged after 37 days.
Yet the family’s questions remain unanswered as Glen’s body was found in the same location months later.
She told The Sun: ‘Glen’s body was finally discovered in the reservoir, a body of water that police had repeatedly assured us had been thoroughly searched twice.
‘We’ve begged the police for answers and transparency, but they’ve been extremely dismissive. They don’t want to tell us what they found in the post-mortem exam.’
There are several key details which could unearth the truth, but continue to remain unanswered, according to the mourning relative.
These questions include, if there was water in Glen’s lungs or if there were drugs or alcohol in his system.
Amy also claimed Glen was last seen with a homeless man and a woman, yet despite their alleged ‘inconsistent’ accounts they weren’t treated as person of interest.
Before vanishing at a camp on Staines Moor, Glen was also seen withdrawing money from a bank and told a cashier he was heading to a party, according to his cousin.
She said the family have received ‘hundreds of messages’ from people claiming to have come into contact with the two individuals with whom Glen was last seen.
‘Many of these messages contain chilling stories of threats, intimidation and even fear for their own lives,’ she said.
A GoFundMe page was launched in a bid to help track down Glen, eventually raising over £5,000.
The funds were used to pay for private specialist teams as well as search dogs in the desperate hunt for the 38-year-old.
Amy said the dogs indicated Glen was present in the body of water months before he was eventually discovered, but police dismissed it as ‘just silts of mud’.
She also revealed family, friends and strangers searched for her cousin on a daily basis, putting their own safety at risk in a bid to locate Glen.
‘We could never thank these selfless individuals enough,’ she said.
Now, the family have started a petition to introduce a piece of legislation called ‘Glen’s Law’.
The petition read: ‘Glen’s story is not unique. Across the nation, families face the abyss of uncertainty when a loved one goes missing, especially in cases involving bodies of water.
‘We demand a change; we need “Glen’s Law,” a national framework to ensure immediate, professional, and effective responses to all missing persons cases.’
A Surrey Police spokesperson said: ‘We continue to offer our thoughts to Glen’s family following the sad discovery of his body at the King George VI Reservoir in Stanwell earlier this year.
‘Following the report to Surrey Police on 22 December 2024, we carried out a robust investigation to initially find Glen, and subsequently when his body was found, to rule out any third party involvement in his death.
‘We explored various lines of enquiry, including reviewing CCTV and phone records.
‘We also carried out interviews with those Glen was last known to be with, released public appeals for information and conducted extensive searches in the vicinity of where he was last sighted.
‘This included using specialist search and rescue teams, underwater sonar equipment and dive teams to assist in finding him.
‘We have remained in contact with Glen’s next of kin, and are aware that some members of his family continue to have questions around his death.
‘The matter is now an investigation that will continue by the Surrey Coroner and an inquest will take place in due course.
‘We have attempted to engage with Glen’s wider family to provide additional support at what remains a difficult time, and have encouraged them to use our complaints process if they remain unsatisfied with Surrey Police.’
has approached Thames Water for comment.