Teenager describes moment Bishop’s Stortford Canoe Club members realised ‘mannequin’ floating in River Stort was a body
About 30 members of Bishop’s Stortford Canoe Club paddled past a corpse floating in the River Stort before two teenage boys realised the “mannequin” was the body of a man.
Hertfordshire police are treating the death as non-suspicious but unexplained and enquiries to establish the full circumstances are continuing.
A spokesman for the force said on Tuesday (March 25): “The post-mortem is currently in progress by the coroner and we are working to identify the body and trace the next of kin.”
Oliver Klumpler, 15, and his K2 partner Jamie Winstanley, 14, were taking part in a regular Sunday morning training session when they made the grim discovery.
Like their clubmates, the pair were navigating a familiar stretch of water between the club’s headquarters in Stylemans Lane and Rushy Mead nature reserve when they encountered what they believed was an abandoned dummy or scarecrow. Close by, figures in hi-vis jackets have been placed close to a Bishop's Stortford and District Angling Society lake to protect fish.
The body was face down in a spot known as “the Winding Hole”, south of the canoe club hut at a point where the river bends sharply.
Oliver, who is a Birchwood High School student, and Jamie, who attends The Bishop’s Stortford High School, could see the top of a head, which was grey with silt, and the hood of a jacket floating in the murky water.
When they returned to the clubhouse after around an hour on the river, they reported their concerns and walked back along the riverbank with Oliver’s sister Emilie, mum Flora and her friend to pinpoint the location.
Oliver said he and Jamie often remove debris from the river during their sessions; their usual finds are dog toys and balls.
It was decided they would take a more stable boat back onto the water to retrieve what everyone still believed was a mannequin.
Jamie grabbed the hood and, at that point, both boys and the adults on the bank recognised other clothing and realised the body was “horribly lifelike”.
Oliver said: “I think we all realised at the same time. I had a hunch. I just thought that doesn’t really look like a mannequin.”
The boys abandoned their mission and an adult club member, a former police officer, got into the water and confirmed their worst fears. She estimated the body had been in the water for several weeks.
Oliver, Jamie and Emilie returned to the clubhouse while emergency services retrieved the body. The boys spent several hours giving statements to police.
Emilie told the Indie she was shocked but not shaken by the incident, while a composed Oliver said he intended to continue canoeing. He described the grisly experience as “character-developing”.
The siblings have been offered counselling by Birchwood High School and their mum paid tribute to the school’s caring response.
Police, ambulance and fire and rescue services were called to the canoe club at about 11.45am on Sunday. The towpath approaching the scene was cordoned off.
