Wisbech man police feared had been killed found after five years

Photographs of a man who looks like Ricardas Puisys appeared on Facebook last year, police said

A man police feared may have been murdered has been found hiding in a wood, five years after he disappeared.

Ricardas Puisys, then 35, of Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, was last seen at his workplace in September 2015.

No trace of him was found, but in November last year a Facebook account was set up in his name.

Last month he was found in a Wisbech wood. Police believe he was in hiding to escape the clutches of people who had been exploiting him.

He is now being safeguarded and a police investigation is under way.

The last confirmed sighting of the Lithuanian national was at his workplace, Nightlayer Leek Company in Chatteris, on 26 September 2015.

Mr Puisys had been with a small group of Lithuanian men at the time.

Ricardas Puisys was last seen at the leek factory in Chatteris where he worked

"There were genuine concerns Ricardas came to harm that evening," said Det Ch Insp Rob Hall, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit.

A man was arrested and released during the murder investigation, during which no trace of Mr Puisys was found.

'Very well concealed'

Last year a social media account was set up in his name, displaying photographs of him, but officers were unable to verify Mr Puisys was still alive.

"For almost five years Ricardas' disappearance has been a complete mystery," Det Ch Insp Hall said.

"That was until we received information at the end of June which led us to finding him.

"Following a search of a wooded area in Harecroft Road, Ricardas was eventually found living in undergrowth, very well concealed after having deliberately hidden and having not spoken with anyone for some time."

He said officers believe Mr Puisys "made the decision to run away as he had been a victim of crime, having previously been subject to exploitation".

Mr Puisys is now being given "the support he needs after having lived through extremely difficult circumstances during the last five or more years", Det Ch Insp Hall added.