Body found in the River Blythe, Hampton-in-Arden, thought to be that of missing Sheldon pensioner

Feb 17 2009 by Mark Cowan, Birmingham Mail

TESTS were today being carried out on the body of a man pulled from a river.

The man died after being pulled from the River Blythe, near Meriden Road in Hampton-in-Arden, Solihull, at about 2.15pm yesterday.

The body is thought to be that of missing Birmingham pensioner Anthony Arnold, from Boyne Road, Sheldon, who disappeared more than a week ago.

The 77-year-old married father (pictured), a keen rambler, was reported missing on February 9 when he failed to return home.

His blue Nissan Micra car was found a day later in Marsh Lane, Hampton-in-Arden.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “Our crews walked through waterlogged ground along the bank of the river for some distance before they found a man in the water.”

Mr Arnold’s family have been informed but he has not been formally identified.