Body of Missing Mom of 2 Found After She Left Home and Disappeared

Officials in the United Kingdom have recovered a body and identified the remains as a 38-year-old mother of two who went missing earlier this month.

The Sussex Police identified the woman as Rebecca Holdham in a statement released on Monday, Sept. 15, adding that a coroner has been informed of the discovery.

Officials said her body was found in Hassocks, a village near England’s southern coast, on Sunday, Sept. 14. Her death is being treated as unexplained, but non-suspicious.

“Rebecca’s next of kin have been informed and our thoughts are with her family and friends at this extremely difficult time,” Sussex Police said.

Holdham went missing after she left her home in Hassocks around 10 a.m. local time on Sunday, Sept. 7, reported The Argus, a U.K.-based newspaper, which also noted missing person posters about her disappearance were distributed to local businesses.

Detective Inspector Chris May of the West Sussex Missing Persons Team said investigators were “growing increasingly concerned for Rebecca’s welfare” after she had been missing for a full week, The Argus previously reported. May said Holdham was believed to have left her house “on foot” the morning of her disappearance.

Drones, dogs and a police helicopter all tried to find Holdham in nearby fields and wooded areas, the outlet reported.

Friends also launched a search effort after her disappearance. They were “worried sick” and had planned a “big search” to find Holdham on Sept. 15, the day after her body was found, The Argus reported.

Holdham’s friend Kerry Malby helped organize local search efforts. She told The Argus, “She’s a devoted mum and this is completely out of character.”

She added, “She wouldn’t just leave her children. We can’t understand it.”

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After the discovery of her body, Holdham’s mother, Alison, remembered her daughter in a statement shared with police.

“Becky was a devoted mother to her two daughters, a wonderful daughter and sister and much loved by her wider family,” she said. “She will be sorely missed.”