Mystery surrounds student's death

David Brain had been missing for three weeks

Mystery still surrounds the tragic death of a teenager whose body was found weeks after he vanished after a night out at his local pub.

The family of student David Brain, 18, put up posters all over Cardiff and also on the internet appealing for information about his disappearance last November.

But an inquest heard that his body was finally discovered in Cardiff Bay three weeks later.

An open verdict was recorded on the teenager, who went missing after returning home from an evening at a pub with his friend Sion Morgan.

Divers failed to find trace

Mr Morgan told the Cardiff hearing he drove David home after the pub and they arranged to meet later in the week.

He said: "He seemed happy and relaxed and never said he had any problems or that he wanted to end his life."

The inquest was told that the teenager lived just 500 yards from the fast-flowing River Taff which flows into Cardiff Bay.

But a week-long police search of the river involving South Wales Police divers and the force helicopter failed to find any trace of him.

Walk theory

A subsequent post-mortem examination failed to establish a cause of death due to the length of time the body had been in the water.

Cardiff coroner Dr Lawrence Addicott said: "Mr Morgan dropped David off at his home but for some reason he went out again.

"We have to assume that he went for a walk in the night - possibly because he couldn't sleep.

"There is nothing to suggest that he intended to harm himself and we will never know why he went to the river that night."