Missing Eskbank man Chris Nelson found dead in Netherlands

A MAN who went missing during a trip to Amsterdam with his fiancée has been found dead, his family have confirmed.
Chris Nelson. Picture: ContributedChris Nelson. Picture: Contributed
Chris Nelson. Picture: Contributed

Chris Nelson, from Eskbank, was visiting a friend in the Dutch city when he disappeared last month.

The 24-year-old had failed to return from an early-morning walk in the Nieuwmarkt area of the city centre on Sunday, November 15.

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Last night, his mother, Donna, 45, who travelled to Amsterdam to help in the search, confirmed her son’s body had been found.

She told the Evening News: “The police have confirmed it’s my son. He’s dead.”

It is understood police divers using sonar equipment found Mr Nelson’s body in the

Oudeschans canal in the eastern area of downtown Amsterdam.

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Dutch media previously reported sniffer dogs had picked up his scent near the canal last weekend after they were presented with one of his worn T-shirts.

A statement on the Missing Chris Nelson Facebook page, set up by the family, read: “It is with the deepest, saddest regret that I have to inform you all that the body pulled from the Amsterdam canal is that of Chris Nelson.

“Chris’s family would again like to thank everyone for their support but would appreciate some privacy at this time.”

Mr Nelson, a former bar manager and NHS pharmaceutical technician who previously worked at the Buffalo Grill in Stockbridge, had recently moved to Kaarst, just outside Dusseldorf, to live with his German fiancée, Stephanie Kollross.

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The pair were visiting a friend in Amsterdam when he went for a short walk at around 5.45am, telling Ms Kollross he could not sleep.

But when he failed to return, family and friends launched a frantic search to discover his whereabouts – putting up hundreds of posters around the city and working closely with local police, Interpol and the British Consulate.

Those close to Mr Nelson all insisted his disappearance was “out of character”, with countless attempts to contact him all failing.

His 22-year-old sister, Rebecca, who lives in Edinburgh, previously told the Evening News her brother was a “beautiful person” who “smiles constantly and just makes everybody happy”.

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She said: “I can’t describe how much my brother just walked into a room and lit it up. You would meet him for two seconds and fall in love with him.”

Mother Donna had described her son as “her world”, adding: “Any mum would say the same. I can’t function without him. As a family we are just broken. Chris is such a sweetheart, such a kind soul.”

Last month, she revealed he had texted her an hour before he vanished to say he was homesick, but she said he and fiancée Stephanie had been planning to move back to Scotland in the new year to try to get work in the oil industry.

Mr Nelson had also been set to return to Eskbank for Christmas.

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