Urgent search underway as fears over person’s safety after they ‘went missing in small lake’
AN URGENT search has been launched over fears for a person thought to have vanished in a lake.
Police scrambled to the scene on Wednesday afternoon following concerns for a person in Swanscombe, Kent.
It is thought a young man may have gone missing after entering the water, according to Metro.
Photos from the scene showed multiple emergency service workers on a section of shore next to the lake.
There were two small rescue dinghies on the water as part of the extensive search operation.
The search operation was understood to involve Kent Police, specialist water rescue teams, thermal drone operators, volunteers from Kent Search and Rescue and a team from South East Coast Ambulance Service.
A spokesperson for the force confirmed: “Kent Police was called at around 2.51pm on Wednesday 27 May 2026 due to concerns for a person in the Galley Hill Road area of Swanscombe.
“Officers are currently at the scene along with other emergency services.”
The response team were called to the water near Black Eagle Drive in Northfleet and the Donkey Path connecting Ebbsfleet to Swanscombe, according to Kent Online.
Eyewitnesses said the area was “packed” with emergency responders around 5pm yesterday evening.
Two fire engines, a water safety unit, and a technical rescue unit were also sent to the scene.
Multiple people have sadly disappeared while swimming in bodies of cold water during the heatwave over the past few days.
On Monday, 12-year-old Junior Slater vanished while swimming with friends in the River Ribble, in Lancashire.
Junior’s body was sadly pulled from the water several hours later, Ribble Valley Police confirmed.
Issuing a statement through the force, Junior’s heartbroken family hailed him as the “soul of our lives”.
This comes after eight youngers passed away in separate tragedies after getting into difficulty in water at popular beauty spots in the hot weather.
A 13-year-old boy, two girls and a boy aged 15, a girl aged 16, and another teenage boy were pulled from water over the past few days.
A teenage boy, 17, was also pulled from water at Pickmere Lake, near Northwich, at 4.50pm on Tuesday.
Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/39234956/missing-person-lake-search-underway/
