The police response to a missing man’s car crash is being investigated by the watchdog after it emerged his body lay undiscovered for up to three days after a 999 call was made.
John Winton McNab, who had been reported missing from Perth on September 16, was pronounced dead when his grey Mercedes B-Class was located a couple of days later.
His body was discovered around 1.20pm on Sunday September 18, following a single-vehicle crash on the A887 at Invermoriston.
It’s understood that the vehicle the 86-year-old – believed to be known as Winton – had been driving called 999 automatically when its onboard crash detection system was triggered.
But after police were dispatched to the area they experienced difficulty in locating Mr McNab’s car, an insider told The Press and Journal.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has ordered a probe into Police Scotland’s handling of the incident.
The matter has been referred to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) who examines cases involving police contact prior to someone’s death.
A spokeswoman for PIRC told the Daily Record: “We are investigating the circumstances around the death of a 86-year-old man near Inverness under the instruction of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.”
A spokesman for Police Scotland added: “The matter has been referred to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment further.”
Previous call-out controversy
In 2015, Police Scotland took three days to respond to the scene of a crash that happened when a Renault Clio came off the M9 near Stirling.
Lamara Bell, 25, and her 28-year-old partner John Yuill remained undiscovered at the bottom of an embankment, concealed by trees, for three days.
But it later emerged that, although a farmer had reported seeing their vehicle to the police, a sergeant at the Bilston Glen call-handling centre didn’t record it on an IT system.
When officers finally attended the scene, Mr Yuill was already dead and Ms Bell died in hospital four days later.
In September last year, Police Scotland was convicted at the High Court in Edinburgh of breaching the Health and Safety At Work Act.
The force had pled guilty to the single charge and was fined £100,000.
It was admitted that the constabulary’s call-handling system at the time was unreliable and delays “materially contributed” to the death of mum of two Lamara Bell.
Ms Bell’s family received more than £1 million in compensation from Police Scotland in December last year.
In the Highlands, inquiries to establish the full circumstances of Mr McNab’s crash are ongoing.
It’s not known whether the pensioner died instantly in the crash or survived for some time.
Police have appealed to anyone with information, who has not yet spoken to police, to call 101, quoting reference 1660 of September 18 2022.
In a statement, the 86-year-old’s grieving family thanked everyone involved in the search for their loved one.
They said: “These efforts are greatly appreciated by the family. We request that our privacy is respected at this sad time.”
