Two bodies found in river in search for missing couple who disappeared from holiday cruiser leaving daughter, 13, alone on-board

• Search for the couple was launched on last night after their 38ft long hire boat was found tied to a tree with their 13-year-old daughter alone on board
• Police closed a mile long section of the River Bure while divers searched

Police hunting a couple who mysteriously disappeared from their holiday cruiser on the Norfolk Broads found two bodies in a river this afternoon.
A search for the couple was launched on last night after their 38ft long hire boat was found tied to a tree with their 13-year-old daughter alone on board.
Police closed a mile long section of the River Bure while divers searched for the couple amid fears that they might have fallen in the water and drowned.

Investigation: Police have closed a stretch of a river on the Norfolk Broads amid fears that a couple on a holiday cruiser might have fallen in the water and drowned

Norfolk Police confirmed that the body of a woman had been recovered from an area of the river between Salhouse Broad and Wroxham Broad shortly after 2pm and the body of a male was discovered shortly after 4.35pm.

A police spokesman said: 'Both deaths are currently being treated as unexplained though police are not looking for anyone else in connection to the incident.'

The spokesman confirmed that the couple's daughter had been 'informed of the development' and was being comforted by relatives.

Post mortems are due to be carried tomorrow by a Home Office pathologist to establish how the pair died.
Police said the bodies still had to be formally identified.

Concern: A search for the couple was launched last night after their hire boat was found tied to a tree with their 13-year-old daughter alone on board

Det Supt Pete Hornby of the joint Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team, said tonight: 'We are in the early stages of our investigation and working to establish the sequence of events which led to this evening's tragic outcome.

'The motives surrounding the incident remain unclear, but at this time we are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.'

The alarm was first raised at just after 5pm yesterday when staff at holiday boat hire firm Le Boat became concerned that a cruiser had not been returned as arranged at the end of the week.

Norfolk Police said the boat was 'quickly located' near to Salhouse Little Broad tied to a tree with the teenager unharmed on board.

Police said the girl was taken into and later questioned by specially trained officers.
Norfolk Police declined to reveal what the girl had told them about how she came to be alone on the boat and what had happened to her parents.

Police forensic experts in masks and white suits were today examining the boat for clues after it was returned to its home berth at the Le Boat yard in Horning.

The Admiral-class cruiser which had been hired by the family sleeps up to six people in two bedrooms - one at the front with a double bed and a central cabin with a sliding roof.

A portable barbecue was sitting on the rear roof of the boat as police continued their search, suggesting that the couple might have used it to cook a meal before disappearing.

One theory is that they might have fallen in the water after being overcome by fumes if they had put the barbecue in a cabin to keep warm.

Police are believed to have removed several items from the boat including a blood-stained sheet, although it is not known if t is being treated as evidence of a crime.

The family's red car was also removed from the scene.

Police took the decision in the early hours to close a one mile section of the River Bure so they could search the water for the missing couple.

The closure which was made in consultation with the Broads Authority covered a stretch of water between Salhouse Broad and Wroxham Broad. The river was re-opened at around 6pm

The boat is believed to have been found tied to a tree in an unofficial mooring spot on the north bank of the River Bure a short distance from privately-owned Salhouse Broad.

Tobi Baker, 25, a countryside ranger for Salhouse Broad, said: 'What happened is a real mystery.

'The spot where the boat was tied up is very isolated and peaceful. People might moor up there for the night if they want some real peace and quiet. It is an absolutely idyllic spot.

'The bank where their boat was is lined with trees and it is quite marshy ground. There is no path so it is impossible to jump off and walk anywhere.

'You cannot tie your boat up there and walk to the pub. There is just nowhere near by. There is nothing to stop people mooring there as long as they are side-on so their boat des not protrude more than 12 feet into the river.'

An employee at the Le Boat yard in Horning said: 'There is no comment at the present time'.

The company which operates across Europe including on the Norfolk Broads and River Thames in the UK has a fleet of 1,200 cruisers.

Le Boat which was established 40 years ago boasts on its website that it has 'the biggest holiday fleet in the world'. The website says that people who hire its boats do not need any previous boating experience.

Two scenes of crime vans and a police car were parked beside the boat as forensic officers continued their search.

Sonny Boulter, 32, who works at a marine boat yard in Horning, said: 'There is a lot of heresay about what might have happened to this couple. Nobody knows for definite

'One story I heard was that the boat might have broken down and one of them went off to get some help. Then when they didn't come back the other person went looking for them.