Chris Bell launches murder probe after Barmouth beach death

North Wales Police launched a murder investigation after a 34-year-old man was found in the water at barmouth beach on Monday shortly after 15:00 BST. A 24-year-old man from Birmingham was arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody.

Chris Bell at Barmouth

Det Supt Chris Bell said emergency services were called to Barmouth shortly after 15:00 BST and that efforts to save the man failed before he was pronounced dead. He said: "An investigation into the man's death has been launched and I am urging anybody who was at Barmouth beach and witnessed the incident to contact police."

Bell also asked anyone who took photos or videos in the afternoon to send them to the force. That request gives police a second route into the case beyond witness accounts from the beach.

24-year-old from Birmingham

The arrest links the death to a suspected murder investigation rather than a sudden unexplained death. North Wales Police said the arrested man is from Birmingham, and he was taken into custody after the incident on Monday.

The dead man has not been named in the material provided. Police have also not said how he ended up in the water, so the immediate focus is on anyone who saw what happened at the beach and anyone with images or video from the afternoon.

Barmouth witness appeal

For people who were on the beach, the practical step is straightforward: contact North Wales Police if they saw the incident or have footage from that afternoon. The case now turns on whether those accounts can fill the gap between the man being spotted in the water and the murder arrest that followed.