A police force has referred itself to watchdogs after a missing woman was found dead inside a caravan.
Devon and Cornwall Police have confirmed a mandatory referral to police watchdogs, stating there had been “prior police contact” with missing Lacey Lake, 24, whose body was discovered in a caravan in Tamerton Foliot, Plymouth.
Lacey, from Doncaster, was reported missing late on January 6 but was considered a medium risk by the force. A search of a caravan on the afternoon of January 7 at the rear of Linton Close led to police and paramedics being summoned to the scene.
Later, police issued a statement saying they were called at around 1.20pm due to “concerns for the welfare of a woman” at that location. The statement continued to say paramedics pronounced the woman’s death and it was being treated as “unexplained although not currently believed suspicious”.
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The force added: “The family of 24-year-old Lacey Lake who was reported missing on Monday 6 January have been informed. Formal identification has yet to be carried out.”, reports Plymouth Live.
This afternoon, the force stated: “As the death is currently being treated as non-suspicious, we will not be releasing anything further at this time. A file is being prepared for HM Coroner.
“Devon and Cornwall Police has made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct [IOPC] due to prior police contact with the deceased woman. We await the outcome of the referral.”
Police have not yet confirmed whether a post mortem has taken place. The IOPC website states: “A death or serious injury, which may have occurred as a result of police contact, is one of the mandatory referral criteria. A DSI cannot be referred voluntarily.”
It further clarifies: “The definition of a DSI does not require there to be a dead body. The requirement is for the person to have died.”
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