Missing Persons Found - With A Twist And Sting In The Tail

[wolf63]

I apologise if someone else has posted this story - I normally steer away from the News section but this story is quite sad and thought provoking.

I know that the Police have a difficult job to do and I accept that they are human and that humans make mistakes. But this is a HUGE mistake and I have no doubt that heads may roll if there has been genuine incompetence (can incompetence be genuine?)


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-33438667

[mikey4444]

Wolfie...I saw this earlier today and I was, quite frankly, shocked. I am keen to see how the Police wriggle out of this one.

This didn't happen in the wilds on the Highlands, but beside a busy Motorway.

[woofgang]

How very sad and odd.....It may just be a case that no system is perfect and the circumstances made this system failure particularly horrible.

[mikey4444]

It isn't rocket science Wolfie....the Police were informed of the accident but didn't act...it doesn't sound any more complicated than that.

[mikey4444]

Meant woofy above !

[wolf63]

There were pictures of the couple posted on Facebook (by the police) - it is the sort of thing that happens (as Mikey says) up in the Highlands or the Outback but this is very nasty.

[mikey4444]

I keep thinking about that poor woman...lying next to her dead friend for 3 days !

[naomi24]

That's not only inexcusable - it's unforgivable. How dreadful!

[woofgang]

were they informed of an accident, or were they informed of an abandoned car?

[mikey4444]

My God...we agree on something then Naomi ! I may have to go and have a little lie down ! (tic)

[Mamyalynne]

Truly horrible.

[mikey4444]

Woofy....not sure it makes a difference ? Police cars patrol up and down our Motorways all the time, at least they do here in South Wales.

In addition, we have the civilian Dept, of Transports patrols as well. There might be some excuse why a Patrol car didn't arrive within a few minutes, but think how many official cars must have passed in 3 days.

[naomi24]

Woofgang has a point. This was just off the motorway. Had it been on the motorway I'm sure the police would have checked it sooner.

[mikey4444]

The link says this::

"Assistant Chief Constable Kate Thomson of Police Scotland said officers had been called to the M9 southbound near junction 9 at about 09:50 on Wednesday following a report of a one-car crash involving a Renault Clio that had left the road"

So it sounds to me that the car crashed as it left the Motorway, probably on the slip road. But it doesn't matter...if an accident is reported to the Police they should investigate with all due haste, and they didn't in this case.

[naomi24]

Ah yes, I see. So when it says //just off the M9 // it wasn't. They mean the car ran off the road.

[mikey4444]

It isn't absolutely clear Naomi, exactly what happened but I expect further details will emerge. As you say, inexcusable.

[woofgang]

if an actual accident had been reported, that makes it different and much worse. I wondered if someone had just reported an abandoned car which might have been dumped by joyriders.

[woofgang]

The news item just says that the report was of "a car off the road" not that someone had seen a crash...

[Gromit]

Sunday morning is not a very busy time for the Police. There has obviously been a terrible systems failure. Then they wasted loads of police time making appeals for missing persons.
The report into what went wrong will be interesting, better wait until then to see if anyone is to blame.

[Hypognosis]

Its also surprising how only one member of the public phoned it in. The version I read made it sound like the call was made on the Sunday. That person evidently didn't pass the same spot again in the subsequent days.

Or the car was positioned such that occupants could not be seen at a glance?

[wolf63]

I read some reports last night that weren't very clear - whether the crash happened three days ago or just prior to the car being found by the polis.

I hope that the girl wasn't fully aware during the time that she was there - that is a horrendous thought.

There will be an enquiry/inquiry and there will be many 'lessons learned'.

Still sad.