A man's loyal dog who refused to leave the riverbank was the only witness as to what happened when her owner was swept out to sea. Nicholas Degraff was reported missing on December 12 last year after his 'best friend', Leah the Alsatian, was found at the side of the River Derwent.
He had entered the river five weeks before his body was discovered by a dredger vessel in sea of the Cumbrian coast in two halves. The 23-year-old welder had spent the previous night with friends and was last seen on CCTV at 5.17am walking his dog through Great Clifton.
A widespread search was launched for the heavy metal fan by his family and friends but there had been no sightings of Nicholas until January 21 of this year when the dredger found his body at the Port of Workington. The dog had been found at the side of the River Derwent by walkers just before 12.36pm on December 12, according to an inquest held on November 8 at Cockermouth Coroner's Court.
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