Gboyega Odubanjo was last seen at Shambala Festival in Kelmarsh, about 10 miles west of Kettering
By Rachael McMenemy
BBC News, Northamptonshire
Multiple lines of inquiry are being looked at by police in the case of a poet who went missing at a festival before a body was later discovered.
Gboyega Odubanjo, 27, from Bromley, south London, was last seen at Shambala Festival in Northamptonshire last Saturday. A body was found on Thursday.
Police said the case was “fast-paced and complex”, with many lines of inquiry still being considered.
However, the death was not being treated as suspicious.
Mr Odubanjo was last spotted at 04:00 BST the day before he was due to perform at Shambala in Kelmarsh, west of Kettering. He did not arrive for his set on the Sunday.
Northamptonshire Police carried out a “methodical” search of open land and nearby water following his disappearance.
A body was discovered in the Kelmarsh area the following Thursday and Mr Odubanjo’s family was informed. Formal identification was due to take place.
Meanwhile, tributes have been paid throughout the week to the award-winning performer, with him called a “shining light” and an “incomparable” poet.
Prior to the discovery of a body, his godmother, Antonia Onigbode, said he was an “exceptionally gifted person” with “a bright future ahead of him”, adding his disappearance was “out of character”.
Image source, Poetry Society
Mr Odubanjo was one of poetry’s “shining lights”, said independent poetry publisher Bad Betty Press
Det Ch Insp Johnny Campbell said: “Making a discovery of this nature is never easy for the families and friends of the missing person, or those involved in the search.
“However, this remains a live investigation as we work to understand what has happened, and speculation is not helpful for either the family or this process.”
Mr Odubanjo’s pamphlet, Aunty Uncle Poems, was a winner of the Poetry Business New Poets prize in 2020. He had also been the recipient of an Eric Gregory award from the Society of Authors and a Michael Marks pamphlet award.
He had been studying for a PhD in creative writing at the University of Hertfordshire and had previously attended the University of East Anglia.
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