The police watchdog is investigating complaints made by Richard Okorogheye’s mother and considering whether race played a role in the way the Metropolitan police handled reports of her son’s disappearance.

The 19-year-old, who was a first-year business and IT undergraduate at Oxford Brookes University, was reported missing from Ladbroke Grove, west London, by his mother, Evidence Joel, on 23 March. She made further calls to the Met the following day.

Okorogheye’s body was discovered in Epping Forest, Essex, on 5 April. A postmortem was conducted on 7 April. The police watchdog began investigating after a mandatory referral was received from the Met on 7 April.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct met Joel on 16 April, when she informed investigators she wished to complain about the way in which she was initially treated by the police and how her reports about the disappearance of her son were handled.

The IOPC said its investigation will address these complaints, including whether ethnicity played a part in the way the initial reports of the disappearance were handled, and examine the Met’s overall handling of the missing person report.

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Source: Watchdog to examine how Met police handled Richard Okorogheye’s disappearance