Girl’s body found in sea off East Yorkshire coast

A body has been found during the search for a missing 15-year-old girl who was washed out to sea off the East Yorkshire coast, Humberside Police said.

Grace Keeling entered the water at Withernsea on January 2. He died after his mother, Sarah Keeling, 45, and passerby Mark Ratcliffe, 67, tried to save him.

The force said emergency services attempted to retrieve the body, which was found among rocks on Withernsea beach at 08:30 GMT on Thursday, but were unsuccessful due to tide times and other conditions.

Specialist officers contacted Grace’s family and asked people to “avoid speculation” and “respect their privacy”.

Emergency services, including HM Coastguard, cordoned off an area of ​​Holmpton Road and remained at the scene, police said.

Det Supt Simon Vickers said the discovery followed 13 days of “extensive searches”.

He added: “Officers and specialist teams are working to explore every possible option to recover the body sensitively in very complex circumstances.

“Due to tide times, conditions and location, the rescue could not be carried out immediately and was therefore paused until it was safe to proceed.”

Following calls to emergency services at around 15:00 GMT on 2 January, a major operation was launched involving HM Coastguard, lifeboats and helicopters.

Ratcliffe was pulled from the sea unconscious and died at the scene. Sarah Keeling’s body was found later that evening.

Ratcliffe’s family described him at his memorial service as “a true selfless hero with a heart of gold who was so cruelly deceived while trying to save others”.

Sarah Keeling’s close friend Joanne Gee said the 45-year-old “absolutely left an impression on everyone she met”.