Several public appeals to find the 79-year-old were issued and circulated online by local Oldham residents and beyond after police expressed concern for his whereabouts, given the fact he had Alzheimer’s and may have been missing without his medication.
Mr Hazeltine was later caught on CCTV walking along Manchester Street in Oldham in the direction of the town centre at around 10:26am on the same day he went missing.
GMP shared the CCTV images with the public in the hopes of finding him.
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CCTV images of David Hazeltine on Monday 3 July / Credit: GMP
But despite the numerous appeals being shared far and wide, and searches continuing for several days, a GMP spokesperson later confirmed that a body had been found.
“At around 11.15am on Friday 7 July 2023, officers were called to a concern for welfare of a male on a path near Westwood, Oldham,” a GMP spokesperson revealed in a statement, “Officers and emergency services attended.
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“Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, the male was sadly pronounced deceased at the scene.
“There are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.”
After the body was confirmed to be that of Mr Hazeltine, the family of the “lovely” world-travelling ex veteran have paid tribute to him.
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The family’s tribute, as shared by GMP, reads: “We would like to thank family, friends and the wider public who helped via social media to spread the word when my Dad went missing.
“As an ex-Royal Marine veteran, Dad was a very proud and independent man despite his worsening Alzheimer’s. A man who had travelled the world in his career, he loved to spend his later years growing and sharing his fruit and veg from his allotment.
“He is described as a lovely man by all who met him and he will be sadly missed by his family.
If you need bringing up to speed a little, as part of the ongoing £150m investment into Greater Manchester’s tram network, essential improvement work is being carried out on three major Metrolink lines across the region in a bid to make the network ‘safer’ and ‘more resilient and reliable for passengers’ for years to come.
This means that from today (Monday 19 October) through to Sunday 1 November, tram improvement works will take place at Deansgate-Castlefield, and Trafford Bar.
Additional works will also take place in the city centre during this time, allowing TfGM to keep closures of the tram network to a minimum.
During the dates above, no trams will run on the Altrincham, Trafford Centre, and Eccles lines.
A number of shuttle bus services will the running over the course of the two-week closure, however – with services arriving every 10 or 15 minutes, depending on the line, and you can find a full list of these here.
But despite the alternative services, widespread disruption is still expected for hundreds of people.
TfGM has issued a statement on the works being carried out, and offered support to anyone who may need it: “This is essential work that will help keep our tram network safe, reliable and fit for the future. We’re sorry for the disruption and we’ll be doing everything we can to make sure people can still get around while it’s taking place.
“We’ve listened carefully to feedback from customers during previous closures and have introduced more direct shuttle buses between key locations and extra buses on local Bee Network routes.
“If you use any of the affected lines, now is the time to check your travel plans.
“We’d encourage everyone to visit the Bee Network website or app before travelling so they can see the options available to them and allow extra time where necessary.”
Services will resume on these lines from start of service on Monday 2 November.
However there will be some minor route changes through the city centre in place from Monday 2 to Wednesday 4 November, so it’s important to check your journey before you travel.
Featured Image – TfGM
News
Victim named and murder investigation launched after young woman is killed in Newton Heath stabbing
Emily Sergeant
The victim of a street stabbing in Newton Heath this week has been named for the first time as a murder investigation continues.
It comes after officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) responded to reports of a disturbance at around 2am yesterday (Thursday 15 October) on Dorking Avenue, in the Newton Heath area of Manchester, and when they arrived on the scene, they found a woman in her 20s with serious injuries that were ‘consistent with a stabbing’.
Despite best efforts of all emergency services involved, the young woman was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
As the murder investigation progresses, the woman has now been publicly named and a photo of her has been released for the first time.
She has been named as 26-year-old Alisha Samuels.
At this time, one man, aged 25, has been arrested on suspicion of murder, and a man and woman, aged 61 and 38, have been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, and they all remain in custody – with officers continuing their enquiries to establish the full circumstances of this incident.
Alisha’s family have asked for privacy whilst they deal with the devastating loss of their loved one, GMP has stated.
“We are continuing to urge people who may have information in relation to this incident to please come forward to support our investigation and bring justice for Alisha,” the police force said in a public appeal.
Anyone who may have witnessed the incident, or has mobile phone, CCTV, or doorbell footage, is urged to call GMP on 0161 856 5464, or contact them via the Major Incident Public Portal here.
Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111
Emily Sergeant -
12th July 2023 
