Inquest opens into death of Ashfield teen swept out to sea in Withernsea

Grace Keeling's body was found on Thursday, January 15 – 13 days after she was swept out to sea following an extensive multi-agency search and rescue mission.

Lorraine Harris, area coroner for Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire, said the inquest would involve determining a suitable time of death for Grace and cause of death.

Ms Harris confirmed Grace Keeling was born on August 19, 2010. She was from Sutton-on-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire.

No family representatives were present at Hull Coroner's Court. Ms Harris postponed all three inquests to a later date.

Grace was swept out to sea in the tragedy on January 2.

Her body was discovered on rocks at Withernsea beach after two weeks of extensive searches, but it was not possible to safely recover her before high tide on January 17, Humberside Police said.

The court heard formal identification had now taken place to confirm it was Grace Keeling

The incident claimed the life of her mum 45-year-old Sarah Keeling who jumped in to try and save her and 67-year-old Mark Ratcliffe, a member of the public who died trying to assist with the rescue.

Grace was standing on some steps leading down to the beach with a friend when disaster struck.

Police confirmed the two other men who also entered the water in an attempt to assist with the rescue managed to exit safely.

Police launched an extensive search for Grace following the tragedy using drones, an underwater search unit and consulting with an oceanographer in an effort to find the missing teen.