‘He was a cheeky chap and so full of joy. He was always happy and there were never any bad moment with him.’
Joshua Kershaw, 21 and his mum, Jenny, 39(Image: Jade Kershaw© SWNS)
The family of missing Brit Joshua Kershaw have told of their heartbreak after only finding the “cheeky and happy” 21-year-old after he had been dead for a week in Thailand. Joshua had flown out to Bangkok for a week’s holiday on January 12 when he stopped replying to phone calls from his mum, Jenny, 39.
The young landscaper, from Grimsby, Lincolnshire, had told his family that he was travelling to the southern city of Pattaya for the trip. He had visited the city a month before on another week-long holiday to Thailand at the start of December.
But his family have revealed that Joshua never made it out of Bangkok as his body was found by staff in the hotel room he was staying in. The family have said he was found in his bed with a bandage around his arm.
Tragically, they have said he was found seven days ago on Wednesday, January 14, no one knew because they had told the British Embassy he was missing in Pattaya where they thought he had travelled to. According to the family, on Saturday, January 17, Jenny contacted the police about Joshua, who then put his case on high alert yesterday (January 20) who managed to locate him to Bangkok.
They then later confirmed he was found dead and is currently placed in a morgue. The family say his cause of death is currently unknown. Joshua’s auntie Jade Kershaw, 31, has said they cannot return his body home until an investigation into his death and a post-mortem have been completed.
Joshua Kershaw, 21 and his mum, Jenny, 39(Image: Jade Kershaw© SWNS)
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.
“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.”
Joshua Kershaw with his mum Jenny and other family members(Image: Jade Kershaw© SWNS)
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 due to fly home to the UK on January 19, 2026 at 8:30pm (Thai time), landing at London Heathrow on January 20 at 6:25am. The family have said he not board this flight, which they say was later confirmed by police officials.
Jade said she drove five hours to Heathrow to check just in case he had boarded the flight home, but she didn’t find him in the airport. Jade says the family have been in contact with the international funeral directors to help bring his body home.
She says it is still currently unknown when Joshua will be returned to the UK. Jade said the money from the GoFundMe will now go to towards bringing Joshua’s body back to the UK and his funeral cost.