THE MOTHER of missing student Richard Okorogheye has said that it is “devastating” to be told by police that a body found in Epping Forest matched her son’s description.

The 19-year-old was shielding throughout the pandemic due to his sickle cell disease and has not been since leaving the home he shared with his mother in Ladbroke Grove, west London on March 22.

He was captured on CCTV walking near Epping Forest in the early hours of March 23.

On Monday, Essex police confirmed that a body had been found in the forest.

The teenager’s mother, Evidence Joel, was told that the body matched the description of the business and IT student at Oxford Brookes University.

Speaking to the Evening Standard newspaper, she said: “We thought Richard would be found or would just come home. But he’s not. My baby will never come home to his mummy again. He was taken away from me too early. The only child I have.

“It’s devastating and the last thing I thought I’d hear.”

It was discovered by police that Richard had taken a bus and later a taxi from west London to a to a residential street in Loughton.

He was seen on CCTV walking towards Epping Forest at 12.39am on Tuesday March 23.

Following his disappearance, his mother said she was “overwhelmed” by the support in trying to locate her son.

She told the Standard: “Richard is my moon and sun. He is the reason I wake up each morning and breathe. I worship the ground he walks on.”

In a statement, Det Supt Danny Gosling of the Metropolitan police, who is leading the investigation, said: “Yesterday afternoon we were informed by colleagues from Essex police that a body had been found in a lake in Epping Forest.

“While we wait for formal identification, we have spoken to Richard Okorogheye’s family to update them with this latest development. Our specially trained officers continue to support them as they have done throughout.”

Police officers and specialist search teams and dogs had been conducting extensive searches since the teenager was last seen on CCTV.

Since his disappearance, his phone had not been used.

Gosling added: “The postmortem will take place in due course and we await formal identification.

“This is an extensive inquiry and we are working tirelessly to establish the full circumstances. The forensic, medical and specialist inquiries are ongoing. As part of our investigation we remain in the area to carry out further searches.

“I understand there are a number of questions and we are doing all we can to answer them.”