Police not treating Petra Srncova’s disappearance as suspicious | London

Officers searching for the missing hospital worker Petra Srncova are not treating her disappearance as suspicious, they have said, after a body was found in a park in south London.

Police have not formally identified the body, which was discovered close to where the 32-year-old was last seen, but they have informed the senior nurse assistant’s relatives.

Srncova was reported missing five days after failing to return home from her shift at Evelina London children’s hospital in Westminster on Sunday 28 November. It was thought she was travelling to her home in the Camberwell area.

The body was discovered in Brunswick Park in the same part of the capital just before lunchtime on Sunday – two weeks after her disappearance.

The local MP, Labour’s Harriet Harman, was among those to leave floral tributes to Srncova on Monday as she expressed her “deepest sympathy” to the Czech national’s relatives.

The Czech foreign minister, Jakub Kulhánek, called the news “very sad” and offered his condolences to Srncova’s family, while the country’s embassy in London told PA Media: “We would like to express our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased Czech citizen.”

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS foundation trust, for which Srncova worked, said: “This is extremely sad and worrying news regarding the disappearance of our colleague. Our thoughts are with Petra’s family, friends and colleagues at this hugely difficult time. Thank you to everyone who has helped to share the appeal to find Petra.”

A community effort had been launched to find the hospital worker, as fears grew she had come to harm. Harman and others put missing posters up around the area and issued an appeal for members of the public to help police with their search.

After the discovery of the body, Scotland Yard said early investigations suggested the circumstances were not suspicious. “Police have been appealing for information to trace missing senior nurse assistant Petra Srncova from Camberwell.

“At approximately 11.40am on Sunday 12 December, police were called by a member of the public to reports of the body of a woman that had been found in Brunswick Park, SE5.

“Officers attended and found a woman who was deceased. Her death is being treated as unexplained but initial inquiries suggest the circumstances are not suspicious. A postmortem examination will take place in due course.

“While formal identification awaits, Petra’s family have been informed of this development.”

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/dec/13/petra-srncova-disappearance-london-police-not-suspicious

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