A man who police thought had died has turned up five years after he went missing.
Police had launched an investigation into Ricardas Puisys' disappearance back in November 2015, believing at the time he had been murdered.
However, on 1 July this year, Ricardas, who was 35 at the time he vanished, was found alive in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.
Speaking about the bizarre case, Detective Chief Inspector Rob Hall said: "For almost five years Ricardas' disappearance has been a complete mystery. That was until we received information at the end of June which led us to finding him."
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According to reports, concerns for Ricardas' safety were first raised back in August 2015, when it was claimed he was being exploited.
At the time, he was working for Nightlayer Leek Company in Dean Drove, Chatteris, a job he had acquired through an agency.
The last time he was seen at work alive and well was on 26 September 2015. He vanished later that evening after reportedly having been seen with a group of Lithuanian men.
DCI Hall went on: "There were genuine concerns Ricardas came to harm that evening.
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"He did not return to work on Monday, September 28, 2015 as expected, but we now believe Ricardas made the decision to run away as he had been a victim of crime, having previously been subject to exploitation.
"A team of investigators worked tirelessly following up a number of inquiries, none leading to the discovery of Ricardas. That was until we received information that Ricardas may have been alive and still in the Wisbech area.
"Following a search of wooded area in Harecroft Road, Ricardas was eventually found living in undergrowth, very well concealed after having deliberately hidden and having not spoken with anyone for some time."
DCI Hall said police had decided not to announce news of his whereabouts at the time in order to protect him from harm.
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Adding: "We made the decision not to publicly announce we had found Ricardas alive until now in order to protect him and put safeguarding measures in place.
"He is safe and we are working very closely with him to ensure he remains safe, but also to ensure he gets the support he needs after having lived through extremely difficult circumstances during the last five or more years."
Police have confirmed that an investigation has opened into suspicions of exploitation.
Featured Image Credit: Cambridgeshire Police