Lacey Lake: Funeral of young Doncaster woman found dead takes place

The body of 24-year-old Lacey Lake was found on the afternoon of January 7 at a caravan in Tamerton Foliot near Plymouth.

She had been reported missing on Monday January 6.

Family members later took to social media to say that they had "a lot of questions" following her untimely death, which police said was "unexplained although not currently believed suspicious".

The funeral was held at Paul Parish Church, near Penzance on February 10 and was a "wonderful" service, according to her family, PlymouthLive reported.

It said mourners entered to the music of Lauren Spencer Smith singing 'Flowers' and later reflected on the too-short life of Lacey to 'Lost Without You' by Freya Ridings.

The congregation also sang the hymn The Old Rugged Cross before a eulogy was read out and a poem written especially by her brother Tom, who wrote "You left too soon, a light undone, a brilliant start, eclipsed by none. In every room, your laughter stayed, yet silence speaks where memories fade".

Further words were offered by one of Lacey's sisters, Brooke and mourners left the church to the music of Becky Hill, singing Forever Young.”

A cremation will take place, with her ashes returned to Doncaster to be scattered at the grave of her mum Samantha in Arksey Cemetery.

Last month, friends and family gathered at the cemetery to pay tributes and release balloons.

Lacey was last seen getting into a grey Mercedes taxi in Plymouth, sparking a hunt from Devon and Cornwall Police.

After being reported missing by a friend on January 6, she was found dead in the village of Tamerton Foliot the following day.

Devon and Cornwall Police are now set to investigate themselves following 'prior police contact' with Lacey, whose body was found in a caravan.

She was deemed a medium risk by the force and a public appeal was not made through the media.

Last month, a Devon and Cornwall Police spokesperson said “At around 1.20pm on January 7, officers were called to reports of concern for the welfare of a woman in Linton Close.

"Paramedics also attended but the woman was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. Her death is currently being treated as unexplained, although it is not believed to be suspicious.”

Lacey's family later confirmed "with a broken heart" that the body found was hers.

In a statement on Facebook, her aunt Sara French wrote: "It is with a broken heart I need to inform my friends and family Lacey Lake has sadly passed away.

"Thank you to everyone for the kind words and I know this is a shock to everyone but can people please respect our family right now as we have a lot of questions and we are all heartbroken and our privacy needs to be respected and we need to get her back home.

"Lacey you was loved beyond words and I don’t no how we are ever going to get past this I just hope your at peace with your mum.

"Love you always our mini xxxx."

In an earlier post on Facebook, Morgan Hennessy Kelly pleaded for help finding Lacey, who was a Type 1 diabetic and had no insulin with her at the time of her disappearance.

She added that Lacey's phone had been on since her disappearance but no contact had been made.

A file is being prepared for HM Coroner and an investigation will take place into the circumstances surrounding her death.

Devon and Cornwall Police made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) on January 8, but did not confirm it to the media until January 10.

They stated that the mandatory referral was made "due to prior police contact with the deceased woman. We await the outcome of the referral."

An IOPC spokesperson said: "We have assessed a referral from Devon and Cornwall Police concerning the search for a woman reported missing whose body was found on 7 January.

"We have advised the force that an investigation is required, and that it can be carried out by their professional standards department rather than the IOPC."