Bodies of two missing men found in car hidden in undergrowth more than a week after they were last seen alive

By LIZ HULL, NORTHERN CORRESPONDENT Published: 14:06, 5 July 2026 | Updated: 14:11, 5 July 2026 The bodies of two men have been found in a crashed car in thick undergrowth off a dual carriageway - 10 days after they were last seen alive. William Hutchinson, 31, and Stuart Tallis, 27, had separately been reported missing by relatives in Lancashire, having been last seen in opposite suburbs of Preston in the early hours of June 24. But today police revealed that, on Saturday, search teams discovered the men's bodies inside Mr Hutchinson's blue Peugeot 106, which was hidden from view in bushes off the westbound carriageway of the A584, close to its junction with the A583, near the village of Clifton, around five miles west of the town. It is understood officers are investigating the incident as a road traffic collision and there are no suspicious circumstances. In previous appeals for help locating the men, Lancashire police had not indicated that they were together when they went missing. Mr Hutchinson was last seen in the early hours of Wednesday June 24 at an address on Hull Street, west of the town centre, whereas Mr Tallis' last known movements were in the Fishwick View area, around three miles east, on the opposite side of the town at 1.30am. A statement issued today by Lancashire police said: 'Enquiries led our officers to believe William and Stuart may have been together. 'As a result, shortly after 12pm on July 4 William's blue Peugeot 106 was found by specialist search officers, hidden from view, in thick undergrowth off the westbound carriageway of the A584 Preston New Road, close to its junction with the A583 Blackpool Road at Newton-with-Clifton. The bodies of Stuart Tallis (left), 27, and William Hutchinson (right), 31,were discovered on Saturday July 4, 10 days after they were reported missing 'Sadly, two deceased males were found inside the vehicle. Whilst formal identification is yet to take place, we believe we have found William and Stuart.  'Their loved ones are aware of the extremely upsetting development and our thoughts are with them at this distressing time. They are being supported by specially-trained officers.' Police believe Mr Hutchinson's car left the carriageway around 5.30am on June 24 and appealed for anyone, including other motorists with dashcams who may have seen the blue Peugeot 106 on the A584 shortly before, to contact them. Sergeant Martin Wilcock, from Lancashire Police's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: 'Two men have lost their lives in what appears to be extremely tragic circumstances, and my thoughts are very much with their loved ones at this sad time.  'I know a number of my colleagues were involved in the searches for William and Stuart and were hoping for a happier conclusion. 'My job now is to establish the full circumstances which led to the collision, and that is why I would ask any witnesses or anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage which could help the investigation to make contact with my officers.' Anyone with information should email SCIU@lancashire.police.uk or call 101 and quote log 613. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.