A body has been discovered two weeks after a 15-year-old girl was swept out to sea.
Humberside Police said the body has yet to be recovered from rocks due to difficult conditions at Withernsea, East Yorkshire, and no formal identification has yet be made.
The discovery comes after 15-year-old Grace Keeling was swept into the water on 2 January and extensive searches have taken place over the last two weeks to find her.
The body of Grace’s mum, Sarah Keeling, and a member of the public who died trying to assist with rescuing the mother-daughter duo, Mark Ratcliffe, were discovered the evening of 2 January. Police have been unable to formally identify the body yet.
Emergency services were unable to make a safe recovery due to high tide but secured the location using specialist equipment. Officers worked throughout Friday to recover the body but were impeded by tide times, conditions and the location.
The recovery mission has been paused until it’s safe to carry on.
Detective Superintendent Simon Vickers said: “At around 8.30am, a body was discovered by Humberside Police Search Advisors, however due to tide times and conditions, despite every effort it was not possible to carry out a safe recovery before high tide. The location was secured overnight using specialist equipment, and a cordon remains in place around the area.
“Today (Friday, 16 January 2026), officers and specialist teams have been working to explore every possible option in very complex circumstances to delicately recover the body. However, due to tide times, conditions and the location, the recovery could not be immediately carried out and has therefore been paused until it is safe to resume.
“Whilst no formal identification has taken place at this time, we recognise that this discovery comes after 15-year-old Grace Keeling was swept into the water on Friday, 2 January 2026, and extensive searches have followed over the last thirteen days to locate her.
“I appreciate this update will understandably cause concern to members of the public, however I would like to offer my reassurance that we have a dedicated team of specialists who are doing everything they can in their efforts to carry out the recovery as safely and as quickly as possible.
“Specialist officers have been in contact with Grace’s family to make them aware of this discovery, and we would please ask people to refrain from speculation with consideration and respect for their privacy. We would also ask the public to avoid the area to allow emergency services to work safely
“Further updates will be provided as soon as we are able to.”
