Police searching for Katherine Watson, a missing hospital chaplain who appeared in the Channel 4 documentary series Geordie Hospital, have found a body they believe to be hers.
The 50-year-old ex-army officer and mother of two was reported missing on Thursday afternoon and police mounted an extensive search to locate her.
In her spare time, Watson – known as Katie – enjoyed ultra-distance trail running and fastpacking, a combination of trail running and backpacking.
The body, which has yet to be formally identified, was found in the Jesmond Dene area of Newcastle on Friday morning but police said “it is believed to be Katherine”.
She was previously described as having a number of tattoos on her arms as well as a military tattoo on her chest.
Her next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. She has a partner of 16 years, Emily, who is a GP, and two children.
It is understood that officers do not believe there to have been any third-party involvement in her death. Police had called her disappearance “out of character” and had warned that they were “increasingly concerned for her welfare”.
One of her anaesthetist colleagues described Watson, who was the head of chaplaincy at Newcastle NHS trust, as “our rock during the worst parts of the pandemic”.
Others paid tribute to “an amazing woman” with an “infectious smile” who was dedicated to helping others.
A well-known local figure, she appeared on two series of the documentary about the hospital with her welfare hound, Poppy, and had previously served in the army, touring Bosnia and Croatia in the 1990s where she said she saw “genocide first-hand on the streets”.
In 2007, five years after she left the army to begin her ordination training, she became a hospital chaplain, comforting patients and their families through some of the most painful days of their lives and overseeing at the hospital a team of 13 chaplains from different faiths.
She explained on the first series of the Channel 4 show that she felt the role of a chaplain requires a great deal of resilience and life experience.
“The work we do is often very distressing and disturbing,” she said. “I have seen the worst of humanity and I have seen, and continue to see, the very best of it.”
In a joint statement the Bishop of Newcastle, Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, and the Bishop of Berwick, Rt Rev Mark Wroe, said they mourned Watson’s death with a “profound sense of sadness and grief” and a “deep feeling of loss”.
They said she lived out her vocation with “service, compassion and humility” and expressed their grief, love and prayers to her family, friends and colleagues.
Supt Darren Adams, of Northumbria police, said: ‘This is an incredibly sad outcome and our thoughts are with Katherine’s loved ones at this difficult time.
“We will continue to support them in any way we can and we ask that their privacy is respected.
“Our thanks go to everyone who shared our appeals, provided information and supported our search for Katherine.”
