Human remains found in suitcases thought to be those of two men, police say

Human remains found in two suitcases near the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol are believed to be those of two adult men.

The remains were discovered on Wednesday evening after police were called to reports of a man with a suitcase acting suspiciously on the bridge.

The suspect is thought to have travelled to Bristol from London earlier that day, the Metropolitan Police said.

It is understood that he was picked up by a taxi near The Mall pub in Clifton before exiting the vehicle on the Leigh Woods side of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, a distance of around 0.4 miles or 644 metres.

A crime scene is in place at a location in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, and detectives from the Met are now leading the investigation.

The victims have not yet been formally identified but both are believed to be adult men, with the results of one post-mortem examination “inconclusive”, while a second post-mortem examination remains ongoing.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Valentine, who is leading the investigation for the Met, said: “Over the last 48 hours we have been working extremely closely with colleagues from Avon and Somerset.

“This work leads us to believe the man we need to speak to travelled to Bristol from London earlier on Wednesday evening.

“We are drawing on resources from across the Met to find and apprehend the suspect and I would urge anyone who believes they see him, or who knows of his whereabouts, to call 999 straight away.

“Do not approach him.

“We recognise this has caused significant concern to residents in the Clifton area and will cause concern among those who live and work in west London.

“Extra officers will be on patrol in the area over the coming days and I would encourage anyone with any concerns to speak to them.”

Witnesses have described how the man, who arrived at the bridge in a taxi, was challenged after the “tatty” suitcase was seen to be leaking blood.

He left the scene, reportedly chased by a cyclist, and made off in the direction of Leigh Woods, leaving the suitcase behind.

Avon and Somerset Police said officers arrived at the scene within 10 minutes and discovered that the suitcase, along with a second located a short distance from the bridge, contained human remains.

Searches, including with the police helicopter and the Coastguard, have continued since the incident but the suspect is yet to be located.

The force has released two pictures of him, showing a black man with a beard, wearing a black Adidas baseball cap, black jeans, a black jacket and black trainers with thick white soles and carrying a black backpack.

Clifton Suspension Bridge was closed on Thursday while forensic investigations took place.

Police confirmed a taxi had been seized and said the taxi driver was helping officers with the investigation.

Acting Bristol Commander Vicks Hayward-Melen, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: “It is believed the man wanted in connection with this incident had travelled to the Clifton area of Bristol from London earlier on Wednesday before taking a taxi to Clifton Suspension Bridge where the suitcases were unloaded.”

Other witnesses described seeing two men with suitcases in the Clifton area of Bristol, a short distance from the bridge, on Wednesday evening.

Giles Malone told ITV News West Country he had been waiting for an Uber near The Mall pub when he saw two men lifting suitcases across the road shortly after 10.30pm.

He said: “We were stood there waiting for our car and a man and another man got out of another car across the street and they were lifting these suitcases across the road for some reason, right by us.

“Another lady started to help them and the lady who was helping them said ‘These are the heaviest suitcases I’ve ever lifted – what’s in them, bodies’?”

Mr Malone, who lives in North Carolina but is in Bristol visiting his father, described the cases as “big” and “tatty”, ITV News West Country said.

Another witness, University of Bristol student Reece Wright, told the BBC he had been walking near the bridge with his girlfriend on Wednesday evening.

“As we were walking along and got towards the other end, we thought we could see blood on the pavement of the bridge,” Mr Wright said.

“As we kept walking further along, we went down and turned and heard a commotion behind us and we saw a cyclist chasing after a man who was just running away.

“He was making a lot of noise. They stopped and the guy managed to get away.”

Mr Wright said one of the suitcases, which was blue, had two wheels broken off and “red stuff which we now know to be blood leaking out of the side near the zip, it was quite graphic”.

Anyone who sees the suspect, or has information about his location, is urged to call 999, quoting reference 5224180010 to the call handler.

People with information should submit it through Avon and Somerset Police’s major incident public portal, or by calling the major incident room on 0800 056 0944, if calling from the UK, or 0207 158 0010 from abroad.