The Metropolitan Police has announced that a body, found in the River Thames in London last month, has been identified as Samaria Ayanle, a young woman who went missing in February. Ayanle, aged 19, was last seen on CCTV footage in her Marble Arch university accommodation in central London. Officers found the body in the river near Putney Pier later that same morning. Ayanle was studying for a BA in Japanese and the History of Art at SOAS University of London.
The police were initially unable to identify the person they had recovered. However, Wednesday’s viewing of body-worn camera footage led them to connect this discovery with Ayanle’s disappearance. Formal identification is yet to take place. The police has classed Ayanle’s death as “unexplained” and investigations are continuing. Anyone with information has been urged to contact the authorities.
The Metropolitan Police checked recent missing persons reports, but the body they had recovered did not match the description of anyone reported as missing at the time. The police uploaded the details they had found to the UK Missing Persons database and sent the body to the local coroner for further examination.
The SOAS university spokesperson expressed deep sadness that a body believed to be Ayanle’s had been found. The institution sent sympathy to her family and friends and offered to support them as much as possible during their time of need
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