THE family of a Middlesbrough student found dead in Windermere have said they are ‘frustrated’ they still don’t know exactly what happened to him, or how he died.

Matthew Jordan, 20, disappeared in the early hours of March 27 last year after accidentally separating from friends on a night out in Bowness. His body was found in water at Rayrigg Wyke 20 days later.

An inquest into his mysterious death last October was halted after the family complained of too many ‘gaps’ in his last movements.

It was resumed last week at Kendal County Hall, when senior coroner for Cumbria David Roberts recorded a conclusion of accidental death as a result of sudden immersion in cold water.

Mr Roberts decided the most likely explanation for how Matthew ended up in the water was that he fell into the beck under Rayrigg Road and was swept out into Windermere.

But Matthew’s parents, Bob and Claire Jordan, have said they still have ‘so many unanswered questions’ and are continuing to appeal for witnesses who were in the area on the night of his disappearance.

After the inquest, solicitor for the family Bernadette Jackson read a statement from them saying, “We know no more now than we did 48 hours after his disappearance.

“Our family still believe there must be other sightings and we desperately want to hear from anyone who has information, no matter how small.”

The inquest heard that Matthew had travelled down to the Lakes for an overnight stay with three friends.

The Teeside University student had not been drinking regularly due to a fitness regime, and the hearing was told this may have affected his tolerance to alcohol.

The day before his disappearance Matthew had drunk around six pints of lager, some shots and half a bottle of wine.

He was directed to the toilets after being sick at the Stags Head Hotel at around 12.30am, and was not seen again by his friends.

He called in at the Old England Hotel and was given directions back to Orrest Cottage, where he was staying. The last confirmed sighting of him was at 1am at The Hole in the Wall.

Matthew was described by witnesses as ‘swaying, drunk but still coherent’.

Giving evidence at the inquest, search dog handler Steven Nelson said his dog Boris traced Matthew’s scent from where he was last seen, up Rayrigg Road before the trail suddenly stopped near the entrance to the Windermere Steamboat Museum.

Langdale and Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team deputy leader Roger Pickup also spoke at the hearing, and said his ‘preferred’ theory was that Matthew ended up in the lake after somehow falling into the beck.

Kieran Rainey, a barrister for Matthew’s family, told Mr Roberts a conclusion of either accidental death or misadventure would not be appropriate based on the available evidence, and an open conclusion would be ‘the only appropriate conclusion to reach’.

But Mr Roberts said: “I’m satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that he has most likely fallen into the beck – the evidence of Roger Pickup described it as subsiding after the night before, and there don’t appear to be any obstructions to prevent him going downstream.

“It was very dark, he was seriously affected by alcohol, and he may have banged his head before he fell over – that is by far the most likely scenario based on all the evidence.”