Missing South Shields window cleaner described as "nice" man who "kept himself to himself" after body found on boat in Caribbean

San Antonio port in Jamaica where Mr Brennan's bot was taken. Picture: Google Streetview

Mark Brennan was reported missing last month but now police say a body has been found on a boat 71 miles off the Jamaica coast earlier this week.

The 42-year-old, of Copley Avenue, Whiteleas had been reported missing to Northumbria Police on December 21, 2019.

On Wednesday, January 29 the website Boatwatch reported that the boat - named the Avrio - had been found with a body on board.

The Avrio was last seen on December 6 leaving a marina in Grenada.

Concerns for his welfare were raised 10 days later, with the site describing Mr Brennan as "a somewhat inexperienced sailor" and claiming his boat had "no radio or cellular telephone" and had lost its dinghy in the trans-Atlantic crossing.

Now a neighbour of Mr Brennan has described him as a “quiet man” who “kept himself to himself”.

The Copley Avenue resident, who said she hadn’t seen Mr Brennan since September, said: “He was just a nice quiet, innocent man - you never really saw much of him.

“Everybody knows what’s going on with everyone else around here but he just kept himself to himself.”

Mr Brennan’s boat was picked up by the Jamaican coastguard and taken to Port Antonio in the east of the country.

A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said: "We can confirm a 42-year-old from South Shields was reported missing on December 21 after he had set sail to the Caribbean.

"Inquiries have been ongoing to trace him, and we have since been made aware that authorities in Jamaica have recovered a body on a boat.

"A formal identification process is ongoing but it is suspected that the body is that of the South Shields man.

"The relevant authorities in Jamaica are carrying out inquiries to establish the cause of death and we will continue to support their investigation in conjunction with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

"The man's family are being offered support by officers and they have requested that their privacy is respected at this time."