Miya Deamer-Jones, eleven years old and the youngest of four sisters, was reported missing from her home in the Worcestershire village of Elmley Castle at around 11.20pm on Sunday 4 October 2026. Her body was found shortly afterwards in an open space near the cricket ground. West Mercia Police conducted detailed and extensive enquiries and concluded there was no evidence of suspicious circumstances or third-party involvement; the death is not being treated as a criminal investigation. A full file is being prepared for HM Coroner. Chief Inspector Daniel Pilkington stressed that officers had kept an open mind, examined every available line of enquiry and worked tirelessly, while urging the public not to speculate or share unverified information because such speculation causes additional distress to the family.

Friends described Miya as a precious little girl deeply loved by her mother Katie Jones and her three sisters; her place in the family can never be filled. The family had already lost Miya’s father three years earlier. A childhood friend of Katie’s launched a GoFundMe appeal to help cover funeral costs and provide a permanent memorial, writing that a mother should never have to arrange a funeral for her child or worry about the money for a gravestone while trying to process the loss. The page described the situation as every parent’s worst nightmare and noted that Miya would be remembered as beautiful and loved. At the time of early reporting the appeal had raised more than £5,300 toward a £6,000 target.

Local reporting indicated Miya had been spending time with a friend before the pair went to the cricket field and that she failed to return home, prompting the family to search the village themselves before contacting police. The suddenness of the discovery, the police confirmation that no third party was involved, the family’s prior bereavement, and the rapid community fundraising have combined to make the case resonate well beyond Worcestershire.

Police have reiterated that the coroner will examine the circumstances in due course and that the family is being supported by specially trained officers. The fundraiser’s message closed with the simple statement that Miya was loved, is loved and will never be forgotten. Residents and friends continue to express shock that an eleven-year-old who left home in the evening was found ᴅᴇᴀᴅ so close by, with no indication of foul play, leaving her mother and sisters to confront an unimaginable absence.