Tragic deaths of four teenagers killed in Snowdonia car crash came just months after death of two other students from same group of colleges

• READ MORE: Tragic teenager, 17, had dreams of opening a bakery like his mother
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The tragic deaths of four teenagers killed in a Snowdonia car crash came just months after death of two other students from same group of colleges. 

Harvey Owen, 17, went on a camping trip in North Wales with Jevon Hirst, 16, Wilf Fitchett, 17 and Hugo Morris, on Saturday and never returned home.

The hunt ended in tragedy when their Ford Fiesta was spotted on its roof on Tuesday near the village of Garreg, partially submerged in a ditch off a remote road almost two days after their last contact. 

The group of boys were students at a college in Shropshire that was already mourning the loss of two other pupils.  

Alfie McCormick, 18, and Ben Worrall, 17, died just days apart from each other.

Reverend Charlotte Gompertz of Oxon Parish Church in Shrewsbury told BBC Radio 4 that the boys came from a very ‘tight-knit’ community’ where young people have known each other since they were ‘four years old’.

‘They have had some tragedies over the last couple of months and this will be devastating for them,’ she said.

Reverend Gompertz said the town was dealing with two recent deaths – a motorbike accident and a suicide. 

The group of boys were students at a college in Shropshire that was already mourning the loss of two other pupils. Alfie McCormick, 18, and Ben Worrall, 17, (pictured) died just days apart from each other

Teenager friends (clockwise from top left) Harvey Owen, Wilf Fitchett, Hugo Morris and Jevon Hirst were last seen getting into a silver Ford Fiesta car on Sunday morning

Ben’s mother, Vikki, paid tribute to her firstborn and said he was ‘funny clever, and so very kind’

Ben Worrall, 17, lost his life in a motorbike crash on Sunday 1 October, in the early hours of the morning

Police cordon off the road in North Wales as they investigate what caused their deaths 

Sixth form student Harvey Owen, 17, (left) pictured with his family including mother Crystal, a cupcake shop owner (right). His grief-stricken mother said she is ‘in a nightmare’ following her son’s death 

Ben Worrall, 17, lost his life in a motorbike crash on Sunday 1 October, in the early hours of the morning. 

His mother, Vikki, paid tribute to her firstborn, telling the Shropshire Star that he was ‘funny clever, and so very kind’.

She added the apprentice bricklayer always made them laugh, adding: ‘Every day we spent with him, we were blessed.’ 

James Staniforth, Shrewsbury Colleges Group headteacher, announced the deaths of Ben and Alfie in an open letter last month. 

He wrote:  ‘Alfie McCormick, an 18-year-old A Level student at English and Welsh Bridge, tragically took his own life on Friday. Ben Worrall, a 17-year-old apprentice bricklayer was killed in a road traffic accident in the early hours of Sunday morning. Our thoughts are with their families and friends at this dreadful time.

‘The loss of two members of our community in such a short period of time is devastating for us all. We are working directly with students and staff who are the most affected and have put in place a range of support measures for all our community.

‘Students and staff have been encouraged to look out for each other and given guidance on who to speak to if they require support or if they are concerned about a friend or colleague.’

This comes as local farmer Rhys Williams, who lives at Garreg Hyll Drem Farm yards from where the car the four teenagers were travelling was found, said weather conditions had been ‘brutal’ on Sunday’. 

This was when the young men lost contact with their families – speculating that the ditch may have been six feet deep in water.

It has since emerged that the crash could have also claimed a fifth victim if Mr Morris’ best friend hadn’t pulled out of the fatal camping trip at the last minute.

In Shrewsbury, where the four boys lived, mourners gathered to remember them at a vigil yesterday. As candles were lit and flowers were laid, it emerged that the 19-year-old local had been set to travel with them.

However, the Daily Telegraph reports that he changed his mind at the last minute, according to one visitor to Shrewsbury Abbey.

Mimi Ropotka, who worked with Mr Morris at the town’s Pret A Manger café, said of the unnamed elder teen: ‘He can’t believe he has lost his friend so suddenly and tragically,’ adding that he was in a ‘really bad way’.

It is thought that the car came off of the A4085 on a sharp bend, flipping into a ditch that had been flooded by two days of rain, at some point after they had been seen leaving Harlech at around 11am on Sunday morning.

Locals paid tribute to the four boys at Shrewsbury Abbey in Shrewsbury, Shropshire

One mourner left a bouquet with a note that reads, ‘I did not know you, but I will never forget you. God bless’

A man lights a candle at Shrewsbury Abbey on Wednesday in memory of Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen, Wilf Fitchett and Hugo Morris

Flowers and tributes are left at Garrett village war memorial for the four boys killed in the crash

Pictures of the four boys surrounded by candles at Shrewsbury Abbey on Wednesday 

A bouquet and handwritten note were left on the steps in memory of the boys

Bouquets of flowers, photos and emotional tributes have been left at the Garrett village war memorial for the boys

The ditch, Mr Williams said, often has ‘a foot or two’ of water in it, but added that heavy rain can see the ditch filled with as much as six feet of water.

Speaking to the Mirror, the farmer said: ‘They were so unlucky, the way the car went in. It has gone into the ditch, low into the ditch.

‘It was bad on Friday and Saturday, the river had gone high quickly. But by Tuesday morning the level had come down. They were so unlucky.’

He added: ‘They must have been going from Harlech north towards Snowdonia. This is one of two roads they could have taken. There are no tracks on the road, nothing to be seen. It’s a sharp bend, it narrows. There were lots of leaves on that corner.’

The car was spotted, overturned and partially submerged, by a passenger in a bin lorry on Tuesday. 

 The town has delayed the start of its Christmas lights event as locals instead lay flowers, light candles and pay tribute to the four teens with heartfelt messages of ‘love you’ and ‘rest in peace’.

Dozens of students lit candles in honour of the boys at Shrewsbury Abbey on Wednesday as they paid their respects following the ‘utterly devastating’ crash.

Mourners stood in silence at the church alter as they laid flowers and issued prayers for the teens’ loved ones.

Harvey’s mother, Crystal Owen issued a heartbreaking statement, saying ‘nothing will make this nightmare go away,’ after learning of her son’s death.

She said: ‘I feel like I’m in a nightmare I wish I could wake up from but I’m not. I just wanted to say I do appreciate people’s kindness but no amount of messages is going to help me overcome this. Nothing will make this nightmare go away.’

When she first learned her son had gone missing, Ms Owen drove to Snowdonia to help with the search. She told reporters she had not been aware her son had gone camping, and would never had left him go ‘due to the winter weather conditions.’

Wilf Fitchett’s girlfriend Maddi Corfield released a heartbreaking tribute (pictured) to the sixth form student on Instagram. She described him as ‘my sweet angel’ and said she ‘can’t imagine my world without you’ 

Harvey’s mother, Crystal Owen issued a heartbreaking statement on Facebook (pictured), saying ‘nothing will make this nightmare go away,’ after learning of her son’s death

Harvey’s former employer also paid tribute to the teenager who had dreams of following in the footsteps of his mother, who runs a cupcake shop in Shrewsbury.

He worked part-time at Dough and Oil, a pizza restaurant in the town, while also studying for his A levels at Shrewsbury College.

Today his colleagues released a picture of Harvey, taken only a couple of weeks before his death, with a tribute to the ‘hardworking and humble’ student who they all had ‘soft spot’ for.

They revealed that Harvey started off working there as a pot washer before ‘earning his stripes’ and moving to work in the kitchen. 

Tributes also poured in from Wilf’s girlfriend Maddi Corfield, who described him as the ‘sweetest and most loving boy I’ve ever known’.

She said: ‘Thank you for all the time you have spent with me… thank you for loving me endlessly. I promise I’ll do the same for you, my sweet, sweet angel. I cannot imagine my world without you’. 

Her mother, Lisa Corfield, 37, said on Facebook: ‘I am absolutely heartbroken for Maddi and all of the families involved.

‘Wilf was such a lovely, kind lad and treated Maddi in a way only a mother could hope her daughter be treated.’

In an updated statement, superintendent Owain Llewellyn said: ‘Local officers and colleagues from the North West Underwater Search Team have now concluded a thorough search of an irrigation ditch just off the A4085, in order to ensure that all items of property have been recovered.

‘The road will be reopened by the Local Authority Highways Department later this evening, and I would like to thank the local community and motorists for their patience today whilst we undertook this vital work.

‘We continue to update and support the families at this difficult time.’

• *If you need to speak to someone, you can call the Samaritans for free on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org* 

Timeline of the four missing teenagers

A timeline of what we know so far about the missing teenagers:

Saturday November 18 

Harvey Owen left home on Saturday night. 

He told his mother he was staying at a friend’s grandfather’s house but he went on a camping trip. 

It is understood the boys arrived in Harlech at 11pm before travelling to Snowdonia the next morning. 

Sunday November 19

 Harvey last used his mobile phone at around lunchtime, according to his mother.

Monday November 20

3.10pm 

The boys are reported missing at after they fail to arrive home to Shropshire. 

Worried parents say they have not had contact with their sons since the previous day. 

In a now-deleted post on X, North Wales Police said it had ‘concerns’ for the teenagers and appealed for anyone who had seen their silver Ford Fiesta to get in touch.

3.35pm

A witness reports seeing someone dragging a tent in the Felinheli area, almost 25 miles away from Porthmadog.

Tuesday November 21

4.30am 

A coastguard helicopter from Caernarfon searches the area around the Glaslyn Nature Reserve, but returned to base with ‘nothing found’.

5am

Neighbours in nearby Nantmor are woken to the pulsing sound of the helicopter circling overhead.

One resident, who did not want to be named, said the road the teens were travelling on was ‘very bendy’.

6am

Police release statement in the evening saying they have ‘concerns’ about the missing teenagers.

10am

A member of the public spots a silver Ford Fiesta upside down in the river next to the A4085 in Garreg, north Wales, and calls police.

11am

Harvey’s mother drives to Snowdonia to help with the search. 

12.00pm 

Police say that following information from a member of the public, they had found the vehicle the teenagers were travelling in. 

4.30pm 

Police confirm four bodies had been recovered from the car after what they described as a ‘tragic accident’. 

5pm

Police hold press conference outside St Asaph headquarters.

Supt Llewelyn tells reporters the Ford Fiesta was found on its roof ‘partially submerged in water’.

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