Found Deceased UK - Richard Okorogheye, 19, Oxford Student, Ladbroke Grove, West London, 24 Mar 2021

[infinit]

Loughton

September 2020 there were 2 "Violence & Sexual offence" on Earls Path going to the roundabout and 1 in December 2020 under anti-social behaviour and another in April 2020.

I see there was a drug related offence on Staples Road in August 2020 and October 2020, anti-social behavior and criminal damage and arson in June 2020 - A few more instances going back a bit further also of anti-social behavior. It does have a Primary school on it which could explain more anti-social type crimes - But it's the only immediate road to where he got dropped off with drugs history where he could go without being on camera.

I've not looked out very far if anyone else wants to have a look.

 

[Lilbitcurious]

But wld anyone have had to travel that far for a bit of weed? I think not JMO

 

[ApparentlyInDenial]

My 21yr old daughter just randomly threw “a cat amongst the pigeons” when I said RO got a taxi to last known location. “Maybe there was NO postcode of place he was going. Maybe Smarts Lane was the closest?” Eh what??
Places without postcodes? I can’t think of anything apart from like a field or something like an allotment.......
(Sorry it’s not really relevant and possibly a bit far fetched) Are there places without postcodes??

You might want to have a sit down with your daughter Please let us know what she says.

 

[ApparentlyInDenial]

This is an isochrone map of where RO could have walked for *20 minutes*. The red dots are car parks that are open 24/7 (just land basically). I'm sure there are plenty of other unofficial car parks that could belong on this map. The blue streets would take the longest to walk to, etc. There's a distance-time key.

 

[tedtink]

But wld anyone have had to travel that far for a bit of weed? I think not JMO

Of course not.

I don't think anyone thinks he's gone there to pick up blow for personal use.

 

[Beans]

Assuming the meeting thing is a possible explanation, I find it very difficult to imagine a female coming up with the idea to meet in or near a forest late at night. It just doesn’t sit right.

I’ve been through all the posts but have I missed any updates on what he might have been doing between his bus journey and departure in the taxi?

One small thing: he may not have booked his own taxi. Someone else may have booked it for him.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

I’ve been through all the posts but have I missed any updates on what he might have been doing between his bus journey and departure in the taxi?

One small thing: he may not have booked his own taxi. Someone else may have booked it for him.

We don't know what he was doing and there is that 1.5 - 2.5hr approx unaccounted for period which I think could be very crucial.

I also agree about the taxi booked by someone else - perhaps if he met someone in that time frame above, they did? - though possibly the police have more intel if they have spoken to cab driver.

 

[infinit]

We don't know what he was doing and there is that 1.5 - 2.5hr approx unaccounted for period which I think could be very crucial.

I also agree about the taxi booked by someone else - perhaps if he met someone in that time frame above, they did? - though possibly the police have more intel if they have spoken to cab driver.

It looks like a Prius and I can't see any markings on the top or back below the numberplate etc marking it as a taxi. Therefore I'd assume it is Private Hire and would need to be booked e.g. Uber vs having been randomly flagged down. If his phone went silent at 10pm it makes you wonder how he'd have done that...

 

[mrazda71]

You might want to have a sit down with your daughter Please let us know what she says.

Can you explain what you mean in this comment please ( it's a bit ambiguous and I'm unsure if you're joking or insulating something that I'm just not getting)

 

[sleuthheywood7]

If he did meet someone in between leaving Ladbroke grove and arriving in Epping (which imo seems likely given the timings of everything) I presume the police will probably have been able to identify them by now? It is interesting that it hasn't been released to the public yet although maybe that have ascertained that it is not relevant. JMO

 

[annpats]

There is a somewhat secluded car parking/garage area that I didn't initially see not that far at all from the last sighting, do we know if this is an area the Police have looked?

Those lay-bys with the cars parked (further down Smarts Lane past the houses) could be a place for a car to wait for him surreptitiously.
Likewise the lay-by along Staples Road (to the right of the roundabout in the forest.) It's dark, quiet and no-one will see a thing.

But he must be a brave or desperate lad to walk into Epping Forest at night by himself. He must have thought it was safe, and trusted the other person(s) otherwise he wouldn't have gone.

 

[sleuthheywood7]

Those lay-bys with the cars parked (further down Smarts Lane past the houses) could be a place for a car to wait for him surreptitiously.
Likewise the lay-by along Staples Road (to the right of the roundabout in the forest.) It's dark, quiet and no-one will see a thing.

But he must be a brave or desperate lad to walk into there at night by himself.

Yep. I wonder if there is CCTV on all the road into/out of Epping forest - if so there can't have been that many cars around given the time of night and lockdown - I guess that is probably something the police is checking already. JMO

 

[annpats]

Well, Epping Forest does have a reputation for murder victims bodies being in there, so I would hope there would be CCTV on every road in and out.

 

[dotr]

Interesting article..
Sexuality and Self-Discovery in Epping Forest
''We spoke to author Luke Turner, whose memoir 'Out of the Woods' traverses identity via the lens of the London-to-Essex sprawl.''
''In his first book, the memoir Out of the Woods, Luke Turner seeks solace from the collapse of a long-term love affair and lifelong trauma amid the trees of Epping Forest – a 12-by-two mile strip of ancient woodland that snakes its way out of suburban east London into the motorways-and-millionaires muddle of modern west Essex''.

''If you went to the cruising sites around Pollard Ponds and Snaresbrook, a nice young man like you would see plenty of people! But no, you do often see people on night walks. That does *advertiser censored* me up: when somebody’s coming at you in the other direction late at night. I once saw a bloke sat in a tree in a balaclava, reading a book. On another occasion, I went in with a couple of friends with some bat detectors and ended up having to do a runner from some Chingford geezers who clearly didn’t have the friendliest intentions. It’s sketchy at night, but there’s always people in there.''

 

[dotr]

rbbm.
Mother's 'nightmare' over missing student Richard Okorogheye
''His mother said he had never mentioned Loughton or Epping Forest to her. He was regularly on PlayStation and it was possible he may have planned to met someone from that area he knew online. She implored anyone from his online community of friends who might know anything to contact police.

While initially she felt police had been slow to treat his disappearance seriously, she said she was grateful to officers who were working “very hard, every day, with the focus on finding Richard”.

“He was a happy child. I’ve looked back, reflected back, but there’s nothing to obviously show that Richard was unhappy,” she said.''

''A keen basketball player, she said: “He’s six foot and I think he will probably get taller.” He was generous with his time, and academic, she added, saying he often helped out friends with maths and English studies.''

''Joel, who used to run a nursery, is well known in the local community, which has rallied to support her. “The support has been overwhelming, and a huge comfort” she said. Well-wishers from her local church and from as far afield as Nigeria, the US and Canada had offered Easter prayers for his safe return.''

 

[ApparentlyInDenial]

Can you explain what you mean in this comment please ( it's a bit ambiguous and I'm unsure if you're joking or insulating something that I'm just not getting)

Oh nothing, I'd just be curious to know how people come to learn that there are places without postcodes It's good investigative thinking.

 

[ApparentlyInDenial]

Yep. I wonder if there is CCTV on all the road into/out of Epping forest - if so there can't have been that many cars around given the time of night and lockdown - I guess that is probably something the police is checking already. JMO

I believe large parts of it are ANPR zones. I saw a sign saying that while walking down a lane on Google Maps.

 

[sundaaaay]

I'm interested in the significance of Epping forest as a potential location to commit suicide. When you search "suicide forest london", this forest does come up the first result, due to the "suicide pool" mythology but there seems to be some confusion into which pond this actually is as there is many bodies of water in the forest. Some are saying the "suicide pool" is supposedly Blackweir pond but if this was his intention, he could have asked to be dropped off at the Foresters Arms pub instead of Victoria Tavern on Smarts lane. I also question the time he has arrived as making it difficult to navigate to such a place at night with little preparation and likely only the torch on his phone. There is also Loughton Brook Storage Pond, which would not require RO to enter the forest but it has little significance as a geographical location if you were not familiar with the area, especially when you could jump into the Thames in London if you wanted to die by drowning and not be found easily. Either way, RO may not have been thinking logically and a quick search for the "suicide pool" mythology may have been enough to decide this as a suitable location. There is also the possibility of death by overdose/exposure which means he could be anywhere within the forest but it would not have been possible to continue walking all night without warm attire.

I agree that the missing time spent in London is likely key to understanding his intentions.

 

[mrazda71]

Oh nothing, I'd just be curious to know how people come to learn that there are places without postcodes It's good investigative thinking.

Ah I see! New build housing often don't have working postcodes or addresses.

Houses out in really rural areas are impossible to find with just a postcode too.

 

[dotr]

I'm interested in the significance of Epping forest as a potential location to commit suicide. When you search "suicide forest london", this forest does come up the first result, due to the "suicide pool" mythology but there seems to be some confusion into which pond this actually is as there is many bodies of water in the forest. Some are saying the "suicide pool" is supposedly Blackweir pond but if this was his intention, he could have asked to be dropped off at the Foresters Arms pub instead of Victoria Tavern on Smarts lane. I also question the time he has arrived as making it difficult to navigate to such a place at night with little preparation and likely only the torch on his phone. There is also Loughton Brook Storage Pond, which would not require RO to enter the forest but it has little significance as a geographical location if you were not familiar with the area, especially when you could jump into the Thames in London if you wanted to die by drowning and not be found easily. Either way, RO may not have been thinking logically and a quick search for the "suicide pool" mythology may have been enough to decide this as a suitable location. There is also the possibility of death by overdose/exposure which means he could be anywhere within the forest but it would not have been possible to continue walking all night without warm attire.

I agree that the missing time spent in London is likely key to understanding his intentions.

AUDIO "Deep in the heart of Epping Forest, nobody knows exactly where the pool is"
The Suicide Pond of Epping Forest - Phoenix FM
''Keeping to her recent rather gruesome tales, Margaret Mills took us this week on a visit to Epping Forest – the alleged site of a Suicide Pond.
Listen again to what Margaret told me on this subject by clicking on the link below:'' –
15 Haunted Forests Around the World

Epping Forest, Essex, England
''The size and density of Epping Forest have made it a popular hideout for criminals and an infamous burial spot for bodies. Notorious highwayman Dick Turpin hid there in the early 1700s, and more than a dozen murder victims have been discovered in the woods since the 1960s. It's no surprise then that the forest has developed a reputation for spooky sounds and ghostly apparitions (including Turpin himself). Some people also claim that if you drive to Hangman's Hill and park in neutral, your car will slowly be pulled uphill. Even if you don't believe in the myths, just the appearance of the woods is likely to send a chill up your spine. The pollarded trees haven't been cut since the late 1800s (thanks to the Epping Forest Act of 1878), giving them an overgrown and bulbous look that you won't find anywhere else.''