Family speaks out as police confirm recovery of body near Lowry Hotel following midnight search

Manchester, UK – 18 July 2025

By UK Correspondent | ZimEye | A high-achieving Zimbabwean teenage girl, celebrated for earning four scholarships on her path to becoming a barrister, has been found dead in Manchester’s River Irwell. Her body was recovered by specialist divers following a dramatic overnight search operation that began near the Lowry Hotel, where she was last seen.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed the tragic discovery on Thursday morning, shortly before midday, after receiving reports just after midnight that a person had entered the water close to Salford’s border with Manchester.

Emergency responders, including underwater search and marine units, launched a rescue mission around Blackfriars Road. A police cordon was quickly erected as divers combed the river, and a search boat was seen scouring the waters in the early hours. The girl’s identity has not been publicly released by authorities, but ZimEye has confirmed through family that she was a Zimbabwean national with exceptional academic credentials.

Speaking exclusively to ZimEye, her heartbroken mother shared the distressing days leading up to her daughter’s death.

“She had just come back from Portugal and was not herself. She looked confused. At hospital, she told the nurses privately that her friends had given her cannabis.”

Despite being discharged, her mental state reportedly worsened. Her mother said she began to speak in the third person — saying, “I saw my daughter has fled,” — before wandering alone between restaurants and shops. The family’s appeals for police intervention were initially unsuccessful.

“At first they refused to search for her,” said the mother. “Then they called me and said they wanted to speak to me. That’s when they told me my daughter had been found dead.”

According to the Manchester Evening News, the police response was prompted by calls on Wednesday night about a person seen entering the River Irwell. The intense search operation that followed lasted into Thursday morning.

In a formal statement, GMP said:

“Emergency services are currently responding to a concern for welfare in water in the River Irwell, near Blackfriars Road. It is believed a person entered the water and emergency services are working to establish the full circumstances surrounding this incident. A scene remains in place whilst detectives are investigating.”

Tributes have since begun pouring in from Zimbabwean and British communities alike, hailing the teenager as a “brilliant mind” and a “young leader in the making.” She had been accepted into several competitive law programmes and was being mentored for a future at the Bar.

An inquest into the cause of death is expected to be opened in the coming days.

ZimEye will continue to follow developments in this tragic case.