Nathan Fleetwood's family proud of 'caring' young man as they thank those who tried to find him
The heartbroken family of Nathan Fleetwood have spoken of their pride in the 'thoughtful, kind, and caring' 21-year-old.
Nathan was found dead on Friday, after going missing three weeks earlier following a night out in Shrewsbury.
During the three weeks huge community efforts were made to find Nathan, with hundreds turning out to take part in dedicated searches.
He was found near to the Greyfriars Bridge in the county town, a site which has become the focus of touching tributes from friends and people who knew him.
On Wednesday evening the bridge was filled with friends and family who added to the bridge's decoration and dropped sunflowers into the water in Nathan's memory.
Nathan, who worked at McDonald's as a crew trainer, lived with his parents Carol, 54, and Ges, 56, in Castlefields, and has a 19-year-old sister, Hannah.
In a statement his family spoke of their devastation after finding out their worst fears had come true.
They also spoke of their pride at the man Nathan had grown into.
They said: "As a family we are totally devastated on finally receiving the news on Nathan.
"In those three weeks there was some slight glimmer of hope for Nathan returning safely home to us all.
"In his 21 years of his extremely happy life Nathan had grown into a wonderful young man, and his thoughtfulness, kindness, sensitivity and caring personality always shone through, like his smile.
"He had so many wonderful friends and work colleagues and he will always be a part of each and everyone of them.
"We have so many happy memories of Nathan and we are so, so proud of the person he became.
"However, there is a very big hole in our hearts and family, which will always be there."
Nathan's family have also paid tribute to those who helped in the efforts to find him.
They said: "Again thank you to everyone who helped us and supported us in this horrible situation, especially the police, search and rescue team, local businesses, for all the love shown to us and for bringing a community together."
The confirmation of Nathan's death has been met with an outpouring of emotion from the Shrewsbury community, with a host of tributes.
As well as the touching tributes at Greyfriars Bridge, there was also an emotional minute's applause at Shrewsbury Town's home match against Doncaster on Monday – in the 21st minute, to mark Nathan's age.
