Hamburg marketing director who went missing after Christmas party ‘found dead at bottom of river’

THE BODY of Hamburg marketing director Timo Kraus, who disappeared without a trace in January, appears to have been found at the bottom of the River Elbe.

The grim discovery was made at 7am on Thursday morning.

Alamy

Although still awaiting confirmation, the 44-year-old’s ID card was found on the corpse.

Keep up to date with ALL the football news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary

The body was discovered near the museum ship “Cap San Diego”, where Kraus was seen for the last time before his disappearance.

The Bundesliga club staff member had been eating at the Block Brau restaurant when he was drunkenly helped into a taxi by friends at 11.30pm on Saturday January 7.

The day after Kraus, 44, went missing, Hamburg appealed to fans on Twitter for any information –  to no avail.

The police have been searching frantically on the case, offering an £1,800 reward for any useful information regarding his disappearance.

Local officials had previously sent parties to investigate in the River Elbe – which flows through the heart of Hamburg.

Facebook

Alamy

Alamy

However, the river is one of the largest in Europe, stretching from Germany to the Czech Republic, which made the search all the more difficult.

Kraus’ sister-in-law Claudia Hamma had previously told Bild: “We have called around all the local hospitals.

“Timo is very reliable, but we cannot explain what has happened.”