Search for Declan Berry after car entered River Nene

The search for an 18-year-old male who went missing after a car he was travelling in entered a river has entered its fourth day.

Declan Berry, from Wisbech, is believed to have been driving the blue VW Polo before it plunged into the River Nene, on North Brink, at around 8.20pm on Tuesday (March 17).

The vehicle was carrying five occupants at the time of the collision.

Three teenagers, including two girls aged 16 and an 18-year-old boy, were able to escape.

They were taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in King’s Lynn, with non-life-threatening injuries.

Declan is believed to have been driving the car before it entered the River Nene (Image: Cambridgeshire Police)

On Wednesday, police confirmed emergency services had “sadly recovered the body of a teenage girl” from the vehicle.

The family of Eden Bunn, from Sutton Bridge, released a tribute to the “much-loved” teenager who is believed to have been a rear passenger in the vehicle.

Her parents, Lisa and Dean, brother Jay, sister Shelby and nephew Axl said: “Eden was the kindest, most loving girl we could ever wish for.

More than £9,000 has already been raised for Eden’s funeral (Image: Cambridgeshire Police)

“Her horses – Daisy and Dolly – were her world, and she was ours.

“Words cannot describe the tragedy that will stay with us until we are able to meet her again.”

More than £9,000 was raised in less than 24 hours after a fundraiser was launched to help pay for the funeral of Eden. Eden’s family and the families of all those involved are being supported by specialist police family liaison officers.

Officers revealed the car was travelling on North Brink, in Wisbech St Mary’s, when it left the road, which was closed for the remainer of the day.

North Brink has since reopened.

Images from the scene showed a large emergency services presence, with specialist divers searching stretches of the River Nene.

A white forensic tent could be seen on the riverbank with police vehicles parked on the road a short distance away.

Aerial image of the North Brink, near Wisbech (Image: James Linsell Clark / SWNS)

Officers are using a range of specialist tools in the search for missing Declan, with the River Nene’s tidal conditions making the “recovery mission very, very difficult”.

Officers from a specialist operations unit continued to search the river throughout Thursday (March 19) for missing Declan.

DCI Garry Webb, from the road policing unit, said the force’s priority is to “find the young man who remains unaccounted for”.

Declan’s family have been holding riverside vigils (Image: Newsquest)

He added: “This is a terrible tragedy, and we are supporting all the families and the young survivors through what is a traumatic time for them all.”

Cambridgeshire Police continue to appeal for witnesses or those with dashcam footage to contact them, referencing incident 515 of March 17.

The Overloaded Polo: Questions Swirl Around Five Teens in a Small Car Before the Wisbech River Tragedy

In the fenlands of Cambridgeshire, a quiet evening drive along North Brink in Wisbech St Mary ended in heartbreak on March 17, 2026. A blue Volkswagen Polo carrying five teenagers veered off the road around 8:20pm and plunged into the tidal waters of the River Nene. One young life was lost, another teenager remains missing, three others escaped with injuries, and a close-knit community is left asking difficult questions — not least about how a compact family hatchback came to be carrying so many young people late at night.

According to consistent statements from Cambridgeshire Police, the car contained two boys and three girls, all aged between 16 and 18. Declan Berry, 18, from Wisbech, is believed to have been driving his own VW Polo. Eden Bunn, 16, from nearby Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire, was a rear-seat passenger; her body was recovered by divers the following day. The three survivors — an 18-year-old boy and two 16-year-old girls — managed to get out of the sinking vehicle and were taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn with non-life-threatening injuries. No additional bodies were found when the car itself was recovered on March 23 with the help of specialist dive teams.

The simple fact that five teenagers were inside a Volkswagen Polo — a supermini officially rated for a maximum of five occupants but realistically comfortable for four — has become a focal point for local speculation and online commentary. “A small car carrying so many young people late at night” is how some residents and forum users have described it, prompting questions about the circumstances in the final moments before the accident.

A standard VW Polo has a relatively tight cabin. The rear bench seat is narrow, and with three passengers potentially squeezed in the back (Eden was confirmed as one of the rear occupants), movement would have been restricted once the car hit the water. Police have not released exact seating positions for all five, beyond identifying Declan as the presumed driver and Eden as a rear passenger. In the panic of a sudden submersion in cold, fast-moving tidal water, escaping from certain seats can be far harder than from others. Front occupants often have better access to doors and windows, while those in the rear can find themselves trapped if the car settles at an angle or if currents shift bodies and debris.

Local news reports and police appeals have emphasized that the investigation is still in its early stages. Detective Inspector Craig Wheeler of the Road Policing Unit appealed for dashcam or witness footage from the Wisbech area between 7pm and 8:20pm, describing the river conditions as “very, very difficult” for searches. The road was closed for much of the following day as emergency services worked at the scene. Flowers and tributes have since appeared along North Brink, with families requesting privacy amid their grief.

Declan’s brother Connor paid tribute, saying the teenager had only recently passed his test and was excited about modifying and improving his beloved Polo. “He was set to fulfil his dreams,” Connor told reporters. The family is even planning a memorial platform with seating on the riverbank so people can sit, reflect, and remember both Declan and Eden. Eden’s family described her as “much-loved” and “the kindest” in their own statements.

Yet in the vacuum of full details, online discussions — particularly on local Facebook groups, Reddit threads, and comment sections beneath news articles — have zeroed in on the overloading aspect. Some ask whether the extra weight affected the car’s handling on what is normally a quiet rural road bordered by unforgiving waterways. Others wonder about seatbelt usage, alcohol or distraction, or simple youthful exuberance leading to too many people piling into one vehicle for a casual night out. A few posts speculate that in the chaos of the crash, the tight rear seating may have hindered escape for those in the back, while the three who survived were perhaps better positioned or quicker to react.

No official findings have linked overloading or seating directly to the cause. Police stress that their priority remains locating Declan and supporting the families. The car was winched from the river on March 23, but searches along the Nene continue because of the strong tidal currents that can carry objects downstream.

This incident has quietly reignited broader conversations in rural Britain about teenage driving, peer pressure, and vehicle safety. A Polo is nimble and fun for young drivers, but it is not designed for high jinks or maximum occupancy on dark fenland roads. Potholes, poor lighting, or momentary inattention can have catastrophic consequences when water is so close. Road safety campaigners have long warned that overloading reduces stability, increases stopping distances, and complicates emergency exits — factors that may feel abstract until a tragedy like this brings them into sharp focus.

For the survivors, the trauma is likely profound. Escaping a sinking car at night in March water is no small feat; the fact that three did so while two did not will haunt everyone involved. The three hospitalized teenagers have not been named publicly, and their families have understandably stayed silent.

As the search for Declan enters its second week, the “small car, five teens, late at night” detail continues to circulate in local chatter. It is not presented as proven causation — police have released no such determination — but as the kind of practical question that arises when young lives are cut short in such a preventable-sounding scenario. Why were five in the car? Were they heading home, meeting friends, or simply cruising? Did the extra passengers contribute to distraction or reduced visibility for the driver?

These are the questions many in Wisbech and Sutton Bridge are quietly pondering while flowers wilt by the roadside and dive teams scan the murky river. The families, meanwhile, face an unimaginable loss: Declan, eager to chase his dreams with his modified Polo; Eden, remembered for her kindness, sitting in the back of that same car.

The full story of those final moments may never be known in every detail unless witnesses come forward or the survivors feel able to speak. Until then, the image of a little blue hatchback overloaded with five laughing teenagers — turning suddenly tragic in the cold waters of the Nene — lingers as a stark reminder.

Communities like this one often rally in times of sorrow. Memorial plans on the riverbank speak to a desire to turn pain into a place of remembrance rather than just regret. Yet the practical “what ifs” about the car’s occupancy refuse to fade. In an era of ride-sharing apps and parental warnings about cramming into one vehicle, this case underscores how quickly a fun night can spiral when safety margins are ignored.

Cambridgeshire Police continue to urge anyone with information to contact them. Dashcam footage, in particular, could prove vital in piecing together the sequence of events. For now, the river keeps its secrets, and the question of why five young people were together in that small Polo on a Tuesday night remains one more layer in a tragedy that has shaken the fens.

As searches persist and tributes accumulate, the overlooked reality of the overloaded car serves as both a point of public curiosity and a sobering lesson. Small cars have limits for a reason. Late-night drives with friends feel harmless — until they are not.