Four teenagers who were found dead in overturned car had drowned, inquest hears

Four teenagers who were found dead in an overturned car had drowned, an inquest into their deaths has heard.

The bodies of Jevon Hirst, 16, Harvey Owen, 17, Wilf Fitchett, 17, and Hugo Morris, 18, were discovered on Tuesday November 21 after their silver Ford Fiesta had left the A4085 in Llanfrothen, Gwynedd.

A major search had been launched for the A-level students after they failed to return home to Shropshire from an overnight camping trip in Snowdonia. Police have previously said the vehicle they were travelling in was found overturned and partially submerged in water.

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The inquests into their deaths were opened and adjourned in Caernarfon on Wednesday. None of the teenagers’ families attended the brief four-minute hearing in which Kate Robertson, HM Coroner for North West Wales, stated the provisional cause of their deaths was drowning.

She told the inquest: "The four young men were travelling in a vehicle along the A4085 at Llanfrothen when the vehicle has left the road. The circumstances of which resulted in the deaths of all four occupants.

“Post-mortem examinations have been undertaken and the provisional causes of death provided, pending inquests.”

A police investigation remains ongoing, she said.

Ms Robertson concluded: “I offer the families my sincerest condolences.

“These inquests will be adjourned pending completion of those further investigations.”

No date has been set for the full hearings.

Last week Harvey’s mother Crystal Owen paid tribute to her 'special' son. She said: “There is never a time to lose a