Woodland cordoned off after body found in hunt for missing man

A woodland area has been cordoned off as police launch a murder investigation for a man whose body was found in undergrowth.

Dash-cam footage could provide murder squad detectives with vital clues to the killing of Wayne Woodgate, 54, who was last seen getting into a van a week ago before his body was discovered.

Multiple forensic teams are on the scene of the wooded area.

Detectives from the Major Crime team said that as a result of finding Mr Woodgate’s body, a murder investigation had been launched.

Although missing from his home in Kent, Mr Woodgate’s body was found in East Sussex yesterday.

A spokesman for Kent Police said: ‘Detectives searching for a man missing from Tunbridge Wells are now treating his disappearance as a murder investigation.

‘Inquires to locate 54-year-old Wayne Woodgate have led to the recovery of a body in East Sussex and the arrest of a suspect.

‘Mr Woodgate had been reported missing on October 17. An appeal to help find him was previously issued by Kent Police, following a report he was last seen entering a van in Goods Station Road.

‘Yesterday officers attended a rural location in Peasmarsh, East Sussex, where a body was located.

‘Formal identification has yet to take place, but the family of Mr Woodgate have been informed.

‘A 59-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody.

‘To assist the investigation, police are appealing for dash-cam footage from motorists who may have recently travelled on the A268 between Peasmarsh and Four Oaks.’

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