A BODY found in a tree at a Bournemouth golf course is believed to be that of 21-year-old Lithuanian man who went missing three years ago.

A spokesman from Dorset Police said the man is thought to be Jurij Sliachtecov, who was last seen on April 2011.

Mr Sliachtecov, who lived on St Peter’s Road, was reported missing on May 1, 2011, after he had not been seen for two days.

Police became increasingly concerned for his welfare after it emerged in his last conversation with his girlfriend he told her "she would not see him again".

Following his disappearance, Mr Sliachtecov’s close friend Julija Paskevica made an emotional appeal for him to make contact.

She said: "Jurij, we can understand if you are upset or having a rough time, but we just want to be sure that you are ok. You are very important to us all."

Originally his friends believed he had returned to Lithuania because he had left his bank cards and clothes but had taken his passport.

However he had not been in touch with his family back home and authorities had no record of him entering the country.

His family became increasingly worried after he failed to contact his grandmother, who he considered to be his mother, on the Lithuanian equivalent of Mothers' day on 1 May - something he had never missed before.

Police made various appeals for information about his whereabouts over the past three years, the most recent being at Christmas last year. 

In Lithuania an appeal was broadcast of the country’s equivalent to Crimewatch pleading for anyone with information about his whereabouts to come forward, 

A spokesman from Dorset Police said Mr Sliachtecov’s next of kin and the coroner have been informed but a formal identification is yet to take place.

The body was discovered 40ft up a tree at The Club at Meyrick Park on Monday, March 31, after a dog dragged an arm from the undergrowth.

Dorset Police say there are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. Initial investigations revealed the body was thought to have been there for around two years.

A spokesperson from the force said: “Dorset Police suspect that the person committed suicide.”