The body of a ‘gentle’ man has been found near a major road, with a police investigation launched into his ‘unexplained’ death.
Shahab Uddin was first reported missing from the Loughborough area in the early hours of Wednesday, August 13.
Hundreds of local volunteers joined the desperate search to locate the 40-year-old, with drones used to search nearby countryside.
During the frantic search, concerns were raised for Mr Uddin’s welfare. He was described as vulnerable with learning difficulties, alongside being dependent upon medication.
Mr Uddin’s heartbroken family launched several local appeals in a desperate bid to locate him, describing feeling left ‘absolutely broken’ by his unexpected disappearance.
Now, Leicestershire Police have announced that officers discovered the body of a man in an area near to the A6 close to the One Ash roundabout in Loughborough on Thursday afternoon.
While formal identification is yet to take place, Mr Uddin’s family have been informed and are being supported by Family Liaison Officers from the force.
Mr Uddin’s death is being treated as ‘unexplained’, with enquiries into the circumstances said to be ongoing.
Detective Inspector Jonathan Dickens, from the force’s Missing From Home team, said: ‘Sadly we have found a body in the search for Mr Uddin.
‘While formal identification is yet to take place, Mr Uddin’s family have been informed and we are continuing to provide full support to them.
‘Thank you to everyone who has continued to support Mr Uddin’s family and ourselves during the search and who has provided information during the investigation. Our enquiries remain ongoing and we will provide further updates when we are able to.’
Several members of the community have taken to social media to express their devastation at the news, with one social media user describing Mr Uddin as a ‘gentle man’ who would be ‘sorely missed’.
They added: ‘I’m sure his family will be incredibly grateful for the love and care everyone showed in the community’.
Meanwhile another commenter described the news as ‘heartbreaking’, declaring that it was ‘the news none of us wanted to hear’.
They added: ‘My thoughts and condolences go out to Shahab’s family and friends at what must be an incredibly difficult time.’
At the time of his disappearance, Mr Uddin’s brother-in-law, Chowhan Chowdury praised the local community for their ‘absolutely amazing’ response.
He continued: ‘It’s very unusual, and he’s very vulnerable because he has learning difficulties.
‘Every day he’ll go out to town, talk to everyone, he’s very friendly.
‘The response we’ve got from the community is absolutely amazing, there’s a lot of people who know him, everyone is coming out to search for him.’
During the investigation into Mr Uddin’s disappearance, Leicestershire Police faced accusations of being ‘too slow’ to collect evidence.
Mr Uddin was reportedly last captured on camera at around midnight on August 12 in Quorn’s Wyke’s Close and Hutton Close, having been allegedly seen earlier that night, at around 10pm, in nearby Mill Lane.
One local resident, who said they spoke to Mr Uddin on the night that he was last seen, told Leicestershire Live that they had contacted the police’s non-emergency number after seeing a missing person appeal.
However, they alleged that the 101 handler that they spoke to during the phone call ‘didn’t really care’.
The witness also claimed that despite making the call within hours of the sighting, police did not contact them for another two days.
Meanwhile, another resident, who claimed to have CCTV footage of Mr Uddin, described the police’s response as ‘awful’, alleging that they were not visited by officers until Thursday and they never received a link from police to submit her footage.
They claimed to the publication: ‘It’s all been a little too late, because on Wednesday night the family saw a video on Facebook and started arriving.’
Other residents also criticised the force’s response for failing to approach the investigation at speed, with one individual stating that despite approaching an officer with CCTV footage, this was never followed up by the force.
While Leicestershire Police did not directly respond to the allegations made, a statement issued by the force read: ‘Following an internal review of the force’s initial response to the missing person report, we have made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.’
Leicestershire Police was approached for comment.