Missing man’s body found by police in York woodland
The body of a man who was missing from home was found by police in a wooded area close to a York car park, an inquest was told.
Andrew Damon Brook, from Cheapside, Shelf, near Halifax, had been reported missing to West Yorkshire Police on 20 July, 2022, having been last seen three days earlier.
North Yorkshire Police assisted in the search, and found his car locked in the car park at Askham Bar Park & Ride on 25 July.
Officers studied CCTV which showed the car arriving at 8.20am on Monday, 18 July. A man could be seen getting out and locking the car before “walking to a dense wooded area near to the vehicle”.
A camera on the other side of the woodland did not show anyone leaving the area.
At 3am on 26 July, police retraced the man’s footsteps and found Mr Brook’s body. Paramedics were called and confirmed he was deceased at 3.40am.
There were no suspicious circumstances and no evidence that anyone else was involved, police said. Officers found a funeral plan inside the car.
A post mortem found he had died from hanging.
Mr Brook, who was described by his friend and ex-partner at the inquest as a “fantastic artist”, suffered from depression and post traumatic stress disorder, the inquest heard.
York and North Yorkshire senior coroner Jon Heath said, given the evidence, he was satisfied that Mr Brook was responsible for his own death. His conclusion was suicide.
He offered his sincere condolences to Mr Brook’s family and friends.