Police are treating as murder the death of Peter Solheim, 56, from Carnkie near Redruth. A trawler crew found Mr. Solheim’s body floating five miles off Black Head near Falmouth on 18 June. A post-mortem examination has revealed the cause of death as drowning, but various injuries on the parish councillor’s body remain unexplained. Mr. Solheim’s 18ft fishing boat, Izzwizz, was found in Carrick Roads a week later, the keys still in the ignition.

Peter Solheim was last seen launching his boat in Mylor Harbour on 16 June. It is thought that he was meeting a man called ‘Charlie’, about whom police are keen to discover more. After a 15-hour session questioning the people of Falmouth, which finished this morning, police say they have about a dozen lines of inquiry which merit further investigation. Falmouth police commented that it was ‘not feasible’ that the body could have floated from Mylor to the spot where it was discovered, which combined with the unexplained injuries has led to this being declared a murder inquiry.