By Holly Morgan

Copyright walesonline

A 38-year-old man was found dead in a river weeks after a huge search operation was launched to find him. An inquest heard Mark Bowden went missing on his birthday, March 28 in 2024. A search involving helicopters, police drones, thermal cameras, police dogs, and the fire service was launched, but his body was found in the Rhondda Fach river in Porth weeks later on May 8 by a member of the public. An inquest into his death held at Pontypridd Coroner’s Court on Wednesday concluded that Mark did not die by suicide. It was said that Mr Bowden had been struggling with drug abuse and mental health problems that had been exacerbated when his brother took his own life. Among the last people to see Mr Bowden alive was his manager at work, Mark Roper, who had tracked him down after being alerted via the van’s tracker that he was using it outside of working hours. Mr Roper said he had told Mr Bowden that morning he needed to stop using the van outside of work hours, as it is against company policy. He described him as a “good worker” and said they had known each other for years. On the night Mr Bowden was declared a missing person, Mr Roper was alerted on his phone that Mark’s van was moving, despite their conversation earlier that day. Mr Roper decided to follow the van, with his colleague Paul Evans, Mark’s other manager. The tracker showed the company’s van had gone to Barry , and then ended up in a lane in Penrhys, Rhondda. Mr Roper said he followed Mr Bowden until he stopped the van and exited the vehicle. It was heard that witnesses saw Mr Bowden running towards bushes at the side of the country lane. Mr Roper said that he shouted for Mark to “give [him] the keys back” before hearing him fall into the bushes and down a bank. His colleagues called the police, who searched the area extensively but were unable to find him, so Mr Bowden was declared a “high risk” missing person. Detective Inspector Steve Jones of South Wales Police said their investigation led them to conclude that after falling 40ft into the brambles, Mr Bowden could not have been seriously injured as he was able to move from the area. He said police believed Mr Bowden went to Barry to buy drugs and ended up in the Rhondda as an attempt to “escape whoever was following him”. Coroner Patricia Morgan ruled that what happened from the moment Mr Bowden moved from the brambles, to how he ended up in the water two and half miles away in Wattstown, Porth, will forever remain unknown, as there is no evidence to suggest what happened next. The coroner heard evidence from Mr Bowden’s father, Michael Bowden, who said he knew his son was facing battles with drug abuse, debt, and with his mental health. Family and friends didn’t believe suicide was a possibility. Mr Bowden said: “I don’t believe that Mark would have taken his own life, because he knows the impact that his brother had when he took his. “We as parents were aware he was using illicit drugs… we knew there were some debt issues. We had letters coming to the house. “His drug use had gone on for a long period of time. We had argued about it but once they are adults there is not much you can do about it.” Colleague Joseph Lewis gave a statement to police on August 13, 2024. Mr Lewis told officers that Mark’s mental health had been deteriorating in the weeks leading up to his death, and gave examples of Mark “seeing a little boy, and hearing voices in his head”. Mr Lewis said: “Mark told me he was having lucid dreams about suicide and said he was outraged when he woke up and was still alive. “One day I noticed bleeding on Mark’s wrists. When I mentioned it to him he said he did not even know he had self harmed before I pointed it out.” Mr Lewis told police Mr Bowden often said he “wished he was dead” and that “he was going through the same thing as his brother”. He said Mr Bowden had told him on the day he went missing, his birthday: “Imagine going out of this world the same day you were brought into it.” He said the same phrase to Shaun Williams, his childhood friend who also gave evidence to the court. Mr Williams said his friend suffered with anxiety and panic attacks, and said his work colleagues tried to get him to the GP. He said: “Mark was not himself, he was worried all of the time. He could not cope with his dad having been diagnosed with cancer or the death of his brother. “He told me he was done with life and mentioned suicide the day before he went missing. He would only take drugs to block it all out. “But despite what he said, I don’t believe Mark committed suicide. He told me before how he had tried in the past but wasn’t able to do it.” Dr Daniel Hopkins performed an autopsy on May 21, 2024 and said he “could not see any evidence of injuries prior to his death” and he was unable to rule out drowning because of the time that had passed. “There were no brain injuries, or signs of trauma to his head,” he said. “The amount of alcohol was half the legal driving limit – and so there was no evidence of intoxication.” He said the amount of cocaine was “towards the fatal range.” Dr Hopkins explained how the combination of Mark’s cocaine use and his enlarged heart would have put a higher demand on his heart to pump blood around his body. He was unable to determine a heart attack due to the window of opportunity to identify such event having been missed. A separate toxicology report was produced by Dr Alexander Lawson. It determined that the cocaine level of 0.99mg showed excessive drug use or an overdose. This combination of evidence led the coroner to come to a narrative conclusion. Ms Morgan said there were four main factors that led to this conclusion. These included the intentional fall/slip down the bushes into the brambles, Mark being under the influence of cocaine, him feeling disorientated and unwell, and his body’s level of decomposition. Ms Morgan said Mr Bowden likely died shortly after he was declared missing and that though she cannot rule out him drowning, it is more likely he suffered a cardiac arrhythmia. She said there is no evidence to support that Mark deliberately ended his own life. It was ruled that Mark ultimately died of “underlying cardiac issues exacerbated by excessive cocaine use.” For confidential support the Samaritans can be contacted for free around the clock 365 days a year on 116 123.