Family need £10k to bring home body of Forfar man Gareth Hicks found in Munich river after night out

A heartbroken Scots family are appealing for help to bring home Gareth Hicks whose body was found in a Munich river after a night out.
The family of Gareth Hicks are appealing for help to bring his body home.The family of Gareth Hicks are appealing for help to bring his body home.
The family of Gareth Hicks are appealing for help to bring his body home.

The 32-year-old, who had lived in Forfar before recently moving to Munich, disappeared after leaving the Blitz nightclub on February 23rd and his body as found in the River Isar on March 18th.

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But his family are now facing the possibility of having him cremated in Germany in light of the ever-changing situation with coronavirus. They may also not be able to attend if the lockdown period is extended, compounding their grief.

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The family is appealing for help to cover the expense of transporting Gareth’s body back to the UK and the mounting cost of keeping his body in a German morgue, potentially for several weeks.

On their fundraising page, the family said it’s “now a waiting game” to see if and when the transportation of Gareth’s body can be facilitated.

The family said they were initially told Gareth’s body could be flown home within the next couple of days but that travel restrictions had prevented this.

Cause of death

The family also said that Gareth’s cause of death has been officially recorded as drowning.

But they say his death was never properly investigated by the German authorities despite several unknown factors.

In a post on social media and on their fundraising page, they said: “This is something that has caused a lot of hurt and distress.

“The family wish to state that they know Gareth wouldn’t have taken his own life.

“Without any investigation to identify if there has been any foul play, they are left to believe this was a tragic accident.”

Anyone who wants to donate and help out Gareth’s family should do so HERE.

Just over £3,000 has been raised as of 3pm on Thursday, March 26th.