Family pays tribute to 'loved and missed' man

The family of a man whose body was discovered in a river after he went missing following a night out have remembered him as "a gift".

Luis Piovesana, 26, was last seen on CCTV at about 03:30 GMT on Friday at Eastgate Retail Park in Bristol, having travelled there via taxi.

His body was recovered by police dive teams from the River Frome in the Napier Road area of Eastville on Monday evening.

Avon and Somerset Police confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death, nor links to any other active missing person investigation.

In a tribute, his family said: "Luis was a gift to everyone in his life and was loved by so many people.

"That was made clear by the people who came out to help search for him.

"He was such a sociable and friendly person, was loved by everyone and will be missed by them all."

Mr Piovesana was last seen by friends at 02:55 GMT on Friday following a night out at The Jam Jar in St Jude's.

He left the venue in a taxi but soon made a call to his partner at 02:59 GMT, leaving a "distressing voicemail" where he can be heard asking to be let out of the car.

At 03:03 GMT, he made a 999 call to police which he ended after 34 seconds.

Police said attempts had been made to call and text him back to confirm his safety, but had gone unanswered.

At 03:04 GMT, police received a call from a third party expressing concern for a man walking in the area close to junction 2 of the M32.

Officers were dispatched and carried out enquiries in the area but did not locate the man in question.

Between 03:15 – 03:30 GMT, Mr Piovesana was captured alone on CCTV footage in multiple locations at Eastgate Retail Park.

His bag and wallet were later found discarded in the area by a friend who used a tracking app linked to his phone.

Mr Piovesana was reported missing at 07:37 GMT later that same morning.

A significant police operation was launched, involving police officers, detectives, PCSOs, mounted officers, specialist search officers, and police drone and dive teams.

However, at about 18:00 GMT on Monday, his body was found by the police dive team nearby to where he was last seen.

A post-mortem examination will take place in due course to determine the precise cause of death, which at this time is "unexplained".

The family have requested that their privacy be respected at this distressing time, and that people did not speculate around the circumstances of his death.

Senior investigating officer, Det Insp Pete Walker, said: "We are really conscious of the impact of speculation, particularly on social media, around Luis' death and the impact such inaccurate commentary has on his devastated family.

"We'd urge people to consider the consequences of spreading unfounded rumours, especially when there is a grieving family at the heart of this whose lives have been turned upside down over the past week.

"Our thoughts remain wholly with Luis' family and friends as they continue to process events of the last week."

Detectives are continuing to review any other CCTV opportunities in a bid to provide his family with "all the possible information there is to explain his last movements".

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