A body found off the coast of Brittany is feared to be that of a Cornish sailor whose boat was found abandoned last month.
Although police have not formally identified him, they have told the family of 75-year-old David Sycamore, a well-known sailor from Mevagissey, that the remains may be his.
Mr Sycamore disappeared in mid-June after his yacht ran aground near Chapel Point, just outside Portmellon.
Emergency services were alerted to the empty vessel at around 8.15pm on Friday, June 13. The yacht had crossed from France into Cornish waters before being found deserted.
Locals named Mr Sycamore as the skipper, and it’s believed he was alone on board.
At the time, police launched a missing person inquiry, and a large-scale search effort got underway.
The RNLI, HM Coastguard helicopter, and the Mevagissey Coastguard Rescue Team were all involved in the search, which was stood down the following day on Saturday, June 14, as investigations continued.
Devon and Cornwall Police said at the time that ‘extensive enquiries’ were being carried out.
On Friday night, a friend of Mr Sycamore shared a post on social media confirming he had sadly been found and recovered from the water.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: ‘We received a call from the British Embassy in France advising us that a fishing boat had located the body of a man off Brittany earlier this week.
‘The family of 75-year-old Mevagissey boat skipper David Sycamore, who was reported missing last month, have been made aware of the discovery.
‘We remain in close contact with the French authorities around identification and repatriation.’
Tributes have been paid to the sailor, who was described by Cornwall Climate Care as a ‘lovely man and a passionate campaigner in Cornwall on environment, climate and pollution.’
