Body believed to be that of missing British backpacker found in Guatemala
A body has been found in the search for a 23-year-old British woman who disappeared in Guatemala on March 5.
Catherine Shaw, from Witney, was reported missing after she left Hotel Mayachik near Lake Atitlan a week ago.
Guatemalan police said search teams have found a body at San Juan La Laguna. While it has not been identified, Ms Shaw’s family have been told of the find, they said.
Ms Shaw set off travelling last September. She had been with a friend in Guatemala for two weeks, having previously visited Mexico and California.
People searching for Ms Shaw said she left Hotel Mayachik twice; first at 01:37 local time, returned, then left again at 05:23 heading in the direction of Lake Atitlan.
Over the weekend Guatemalan police, local people and Britons in the country searched along the Indian Nose hiking trail. Drones were also used to search the wooded area.
A puppy which Ms Shaw took with her when she left the accommodation was found at the peak of the hiking trail on Friday morning.
In a statement The Lucie Blackman Trust, which has been helping Ms Shaw’s family, said it was ‘saddened to announce that a body has been found in the search for Catherine Shaw’.
It added: "Formal identification has not taken place but the body is believed to be Catherine."
The body was discovered shortly after a jacket believed to be Ms Shaw’s was found nearby.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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