Police find body believed to be Geordie Hospital chaplain Katherine Watson | UK news

Police searching for Katherine Watson, a missing hospital chaplain who featured in the Channel 4 documentary series Geordie Hospital, have found a body they believe is hers.

The 50-year-old former army officer and mother of two was reported missing on Thursday afternoon. Police launched an extensive search for her.

In her spare time, Watson – better 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 was “believed to be Katherine”.

It was previously reported that she had several tattoos on her arms and 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.

Officers reportedly do not believe there was a third party involved in her death. Police called her disappearance “out of character” and warned they were “increasingly concerned for her welfare.”

One of her fellow anaesthetists described Watson, who was head of chaplaincy at Newcastle NHS Trust, as “our rock during the worst of the pandemic”.

Others paid tribute to “a wonderful woman” with an “infectious smile” who was dedicated to helping others.

She is a well-known local figure and appeared in two series of the documentary about the hospital with her welfare dog, Poppy. She previously served in the army and toured Bosnia and Croatia in the 1990s, where she says she “saw genocide with her own eyes on the streets”.

In 2007, five years after leaving the military to begin her priestly training, she became a hospital chaplain. She comforted patients and their families during the most difficult days of their lives, leading a team of 13 chaplains of various faiths at the hospital.

She explained in the first series of the Channel 4 show that she felt the role of chaplain required a lot of resilience and life experience.

“The work we do is often very painful and disturbing,” she said. “I have seen the worst of humanity and I have seen the very best of humanity, and I continue to see it.”

In a joint statement, the Bishop of Newcastle, the Most Reverend Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, and the Bishop of Berwick, the Most Reverend Mark Wroe, said they mourned Watson’s death with a “deep sense of sadness and grief” and a “profound sense of loss”.

They said she lived her calling with “service, compassion and humility” and they expressed their sorrow, love and prayers for her family, friends and colleagues.

Chief Constable 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 every way possible and we ask that their privacy is respected.

“Our thanks go out to everyone who shared our appeals, provided information and supported our search for Katherine.”