Family’s heartbreaking plea over canal bike mystery after dad found on school field by girl, 11, with fatal head injury

THE family of a dad who was found fatally injured on the grounds of a school have made a heartbreaking plea after his e-bike was found in a canal. Neil Thompson – known as Chuck – was discovered at Smestow Academy in Wolverhampton by an 11-year-old girl earlier this year as she prepared for a PE lesson. Neil Thompson, 45, was found fatally injured on the grounds of a school in January Credit: West Midlands Police It’s believed he was injured after coming off his e-bike with officers saying it had later been found by a canal Credit: West Midlands Police It’s believed Mr Thompson, 45, was injured after coming off his e-bike while riding along Smestow Canal in the early hours of January 19. Officers subsequently carried out searches of the area where the dad’s bike was found left by a bridge near to the canal. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Now, on what would have been Neil’s 46th birthday, his loved ones are appealing for the person who discovered the bike to come forward. Det Sgt Amie Petford, of West Midlands Police, said: “His family are now asking the person who got the bike out of the water gets in touch so that they can have a place where they can go to grieve. Neil’s body was discovered at Smestow Academy in Wolverhampton Credit: SWNS He was found by an 11-year-old girl Credit: SWNS “The bike was rusty and appeared that someone had pulled it out of the canal and left it by a bridge at a lock so it is likely it would have been near there, but his family are hoping to know exactly where so they can lay flowers.” The coroner concluded that Mr Thompson had died from head and facial injuries of an “unknown cause”. West Midlands Police say there is no further criminal investigation into this matter. The force initially launched a homicide investigation but the inquest was told mystery still surrounds exactly how he came to sustain his fatal injuries. Most read in The Sun The court heard Neil had left his home on an electric bike at around 8.17pm on January 18 to visit a friend. He left at around 1am the next morning, with CCTV capturing the dad travelling along a canal towpath at 1.26am. A member of the public walking his dog through Smestow Valley Nature Reserve photographed him in the school grounds at around 7.15am. He was believed to still be alive at that point but what happened during the intervening hours remains unclear, the inquest was told. The probe placed Neil on the canal towpath between approximately 1am and 1.26am but there was no CCTV showing how he suffered his injuries. The inquest also heard there was no clear understanding of how Neil got from the towpath to the school playing field where his body was found. He would have had to negotiate or scale a fence to enter the school grounds but investigators were unable to establish how or when he made that journey. Police also found no confirmed damage or blood evidence along the towpath during their investigation nor any evidence that he had been robbed. In a statement at the time of his death, Neil’s family said: “Our beautiful son, brother, father and friend Chuck, very much loved in the community of fishing, his one true love. “His love for life and funny stories touched the lives of so many people.” The dad of the 11-year-old girl who found the body told previously how she was left “really shaken up” after making the grim discovery. He said: “My daughter phoned her mum up, screaming, and told her that she found a dead body by the goal posts on the field. “She’s only 11 years of age. They went out for PE and it was very foggy. It’s terrible what she’s had to see.” The person who pulled the bike from the canal is urged to contact the police quoting crime reference log 1452 of January 19. The force added: “We appreciate the efforts of the person who pulled the bike from the water which led us to be able to locate it, and the family just now want to know where that place was.” Comment now