The strange and shocking death of Richard Morris whilst running in Alice Holt Forest

Alice Holt Forest UKForest DisappearancesHampshire UKRichard Morris

Sep 24

Richard Morris, disappeared May 6, 2020, Body discovered August 31, 2020, Alice Holt Forest, Hampshire, U.K.

Revised January 2024

Richard Morris, 52, the UK’s former ambassador to Nepal, was last seen running on Islington Road in Alton, near his home in Bentley (Hampshire, U.K.), on May 6, 2020, at around 10.50 am. He was always a runner, cheerfully describing himself as "more of an enthusiastic weekend trail runner than podium finisher". Nevertheless, he had completed five marathons on four continents, most recently in Nepal. That was the last day he was seen alive.

After much speculation, subsequent updates, including from an inquest, indicate that Morris most likely committed suicide.

What and where is Alice Holt Forest?

Alice Holt Forest is a royal forest in Hampshire, some 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Farnham, Surrey. Once predominantly an ancient oak forest, it was particularly noted in the 18th and 19th centuries for the timber it supplied for building ships for the Royal Navy. It is now planted mainly with conifers. The Forestry Commission took over the forest management in 1924, and a research station was set up in 1946 in the Alice Holt Lodge, a former manor house. The forest is now part of the South Downs National Park, established on March 31, 2010, and forms the northern gateway to the park.

The search

An initial one-month search failed to turn up any clues. Specialist officers searched more than six square miles of forest to find Richard, with the assistance of British Transport Police and Hampshire Search and Rescue Service. The official operation was called off on June 3.

Discovery of a body

Then, several months after Richard vanished, his body was found by a member of the public at Alice Holt Forest, around 2.5 miles from his home on August 31, 2020. Previous searches of the area had failed to turn up any clues.

At the time of his disappearance, Morris was classed as "high risk" by Hampshire Police, which had a team of around 50 specially-trained search and rescuer officers with tracker dogs and drones searching for him.

Richard Morris Post-mortem

A post-mortem examination failed to discover what happened to Richard. Christopher Wilkinson, the senior coroner for Hampshire, told the inquest on September 23, 2020, that a medical cause of death was "unascertained". The inquest was adjourned until June 2021 for further evidence to be gathered. Theories included foul play and suicide at the time.

In February 2022, the inquest in Winchester heard he was under "severe stress" before his death, and he had been working long hours under high pressure. He had been helping coordinate briefings for ministers when the UK was experiencing the fierce first wave of coronavirus.

Senior coroner Christopher Wilkinson concluded that Morris had taken his own life after suffering stress working for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and amid worries about his future.

Wilkinson mentioned Morris' history of stress and worries about performing to the best of his ability. Previously at the inquest, his widow Alison Morris said her husband feared there was not enough time to process information. If any information error got past him, the government "would be torn apart in the press". As a result, he was "desperate" to keep on top of what was going on, working every day with "no real time off”.

Alison said her husband was a "quiet extrovert" who "thrived on interactions with others. He was genuinely interested in people. His kindness and compassion shone through even when there was a language barrier."

Who was Richard Morris and what did he do?

Richard Morris had a career at the Foreign Office, which began in 1990 and saw him posted to Barbados, Canada, New York, Sydney, and Mexico City. Most recently he had a five-year posting as ambassador to Nepal from 2015. In 2016, he hosted Prince Harry during his official tour of the Himalayan nation. He had been due to take up a role as Britain's High Commissioner to Fiji from July.

Richard was also a prominent supporter of the charity Changing Faces, which challenges and breaks down the stigma for people with visible physical differences. He had a visible facial birthmark.

What happened to Richard Morris on that run in May 2020?

The autopsy confirmed that Morris likely took his own life after suffering from work-related stress. Strangely, Richard was not found after the initial search, especially with many involved in combing the forest.

According to the Forestry Commission, Alice Holt Forest Park today covers 851 hectares (2,100 acres) of mainly Corsican pine and approximately 140 hectares (350 acres) of oak. The area is not huge and is well-used by walkers, runners, horse riders, and cyclists. His remains must have been well hidden in an area of the forest that was off-trail.

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Sources