Joshua Kershaw was found dead in a Bangkok hotel

Wayne Ankers, Annette Belcher, Charlotte Fisher and Charlie Fenton

08:19, 22 Jan 2026

The devastated family of Joshua Kershaw who was tragically found dead in Thailand have spoken of the last time they heard from the ‘cheeky and happy 21-year-old.

Joshua had embarked on an adventure to Bangkok for a week’s break on January 12 when he stopped responding to calls from his mum, Jenny, 39. The young landscaper, from Grimsby, Lincolnshire, had informed his family he was heading to the southern resort of Pattaya for his trip. He had previously visited the destination a month earlier during another week-long Thai getaway at the beginning of December.

However, his relatives have disclosed that Joshua never departed Bangkok, as hotel staff discovered his body in the room where he was staying. The family have revealed he was found in his bed with a bandage wrapped around his arm. Heartbreakingly, they have stated he was discovered seven days ago on Wednesday, January 14, YorkshireLive reports.

Nobody was aware because they had reported to the British Embassy that he was missing in Pattaya, where they believed he had gone. According to the family, on Saturday, January 17, Jenny alerted police about Joshua, who then escalated his case to high priority yesterday (January 20), successfully tracing him to Bangkok, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Authorities subsequently confirmed he was found deceased and is presently being held in a morgue with the family appealing to get him home. The family say the cause of his death remains unexplained.

Joshua’s auntie Jade Kershaw, 31, has stated they cannot repatriate his body until an investigation into his death and a post-mortem examination have been concluded. Jade, from Wakefield, said: “He was a cheeky chap and so full of joy. He was always happy and there were never any bad moment with him. He leaves behind his four little sisters, who all love him so much.

“He just loved to travel. He would go on holiday, come back and work for a couple of months, and then head back out. On the day he arrived, he called home and he was doing fine, talking to Jenny about his journey.

“He then told her he was going to get some food, and then we hadn’t heard from him since. We thought he had made it to Pattaya, but the police told us he never left Bangkok.

“It was so unlike him not to reply to messages or pick up his mums calls, he spoke to her everyday. We didn’t report him was missing at first as we thought he might have just lost his phone. But then Jenny got worried.

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“We started the GoFundMe and were planning to go and look for him in Thailand next week. Police came round this morning at around 8am Jenny’s house today, and told her he has passed.

“She is absolutely devastated by the news. Hopefully, the post-mortem won’t take long as we want him back home.”

In a heartbreaking post on social media Jenny said: “As much as my heart is breaking right now, we have now located josh, but unfortunately he was not alive. We are now trying to get his body back to the UK.”

Joshua was scheduled to return to the UK on 19 January, 2026 at 8:30pm Thai time, arriving at London Heathrow on 20 January at 6:25am. His family have confirmed that he did not board this flight, a fact later verified by police officials.

Jade drove for five hours to Heathrow to verify whether he had taken the flight home, but she did not find him at the airport. Jade mentions that the family have been liaising with international funeral directors to assist in repatriating his body.

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She states that it is currently uncertain when Joshua will be brought back to the UK. Jade explained that the funds raised from the GoFundMe campaign will now be used to cover the costs of repatriating Joshua’s body and his funeral expenses.