Police hunting for missing artist Sarah Cunningham find body on tracks

Police searching for a talented artist whose works have been exhibited around the world have confirmed they found a body on the tracks at a London Underground station.

A frantic search for 31-year-old painter Sarah Cunningham was launched after she went missing in Camden, north London, in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The Met Police previously confirmed that the last sighting of the 5ft 3in-tall artist was at around 3am on Jamestown Road, Camden, on November 2. Police also shared a photo of her in the outfit she was wearing - a black top, black shirt and black Converse trainers.

Ms Cunningham's boyfriend, Jack Brown, said she was spotted 'leaving an apartment building on Jamestown Road' at around 2.30am. 

In a update today, the Met Police said that a body had been found at nearby Chalk Farm Underground Station just after 1am on Monday morning - nearly 48 hours after she vanished.

Although the body has not been formally identified, Ms Cunningham's family have been made aware. The death is being treated as 'unexpected' but not suspicious.

Previous appeals for information had suggested Ms Cunningham was spotted getting into a dark Vauxhall car with a man at around 3am, heading to Islington, but police investigated this and concluded it was a different woman.

A spokesman for the Met said: 'Police had appealed for sightings or information about Sarah Cunningham, 31, who was reported missing after she was last seen at around 03:00hrs on Saturday, 2 November in Jamestown Road, Camden.​

'​At around 01:11hrs on Monday, 4 November emergency services were called to reports of a casualty on the tracks at Chalk Farm Underground Station.​

The force added: ​'While we await formal identification, Sarah's family have been informed of this development. They have asked that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time.​ 

'Officers from the Met are working with colleagues in the British Transport Police to look into the circumstances.​

'​The death is being treated as unexpected but at this time it is not thought to be suspicious.'

A gifted artist, Ms Cunningham was also a resident at The Bomb Factory Art Foundation. 

Her work has been exhibited all around the world, including in Berlin, Los Angeles, Aspen and Vancouver. Between June and July, her work was on display at the Lisson Gallery in LA. 

According to her social media posts, Ms Cunningham had also visited Seoul, South Korea, last month where her work was being exhibited in a Burberry store. 

Born in Nottingham in 1993, Ms Cunningham went on to study Fine Art at Loughborough University from 2012 to 2015 before completing a masters in painting at the Royal College of Art between 2019 and 2022.

The painter was also the recipient of the Ali. H Alkazzi Scholarship Award, which offers the chosen artist full funding and living expenses at the Royal College of Art. 

The Lisson Gallery said of her work: 'Throughout this exhibition, Cunningham explores aerial and bodily movements, flipping directions and orientations until reaching that moment when verticality and horizontality shift or tilt beyond recognition – when up becomes down, or left suddenly turns right.' 

Jamie Klingler, co-founder of the Reclaim These Streets group which campaigns to prevent violence against women, has previously shared appeals to find Ms Cunningham and said she had been in contact with the family.

She said that the last sighting of Ms Cunningham was of her getting into a dark Vauxhall with a man with long dark hair, heading to Islington.

But it's understood that the sighting was investigated by detectives, who concluded it was not Ms Cunningham.