A man who drowned in the River Wye had been experiencing "acute stress and was in a low mood" when he went missing days before Christmas and his birthday, an inquest into his death has heard.

Christopher Jeffrey Dodds, formerly Moore, was 57 years old when he was reported missing from his home in Erwood, near Builth Wells on December 20, 2022.

An inquest hearing on June 12 was told that Mr Dodds had been experiencing acute stress and was in a low mood at the time he went missing.

More than two months later, on February 3, 2023, Mr Dodds' body was found in the River Wye close to Glasbury Bridge which was seven miles downstream from his home in Erwood.

A postmortem examination gave his cause of death as drowning.

The coroner concluded that Mr Dodds' died by suicide after "there was sufficient evidence that it was his intention to die".

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An earlier inquest hearing held in February last year heard that Mr Dodds' partner contacted the police on December 20 to raise concerns that he hadn't returned home after messaging to say he was on his way back.

Dyfed-Powys Police launched a missing persons search covering a vast area which proved unsuccessful.

More than six weeks after Mr Dodds was reported missing, a police dog named Ben found a man’s body following further searches along the River Wye in the Erwood area near Builth Wells by Dyfed-Powys Police’s Dog Section.

The inquest heard that Mr Dodds was found under “considerable debris that had been left following the recent bad weather and flooding of the river”.

Helplines

If you would like any help with bereavement, loss or mental wellbeing, here are some helpline numbers

  • You can call the Samaritans on 116 123
  • Papyrus Hopeline on 0800 068 4141
  • Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) on 0800 58 58 58
  • Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS) 0300 111 5065 uksobs.org