POLICE ‘LET DOWN’ MISSING MAN’S FAMILY:
BUT FORCE SAYS THE MOST LIKELY EXPLANATION IS THAT 50-YEAR-OLD JUMPED OFF BREAKWATER
NORTH Wales Police admit they let down a devastated family who are convinced their missing relative was murdered.
An internal investigation by the force has concluded they did not keep the family updated or follow up lines of enquiry quickly and effectively.
Relatives of Tony Haigh lodged a complaint against the force after feeling they were left to investigate themselves when the 50-year-old disappeared from his Holyhead flat without trace on February 23, 2018.
Tony’s mum Norma Haigh, stepdad, Peter Matthews, sister, Becky Haigh and ex-partner, Michelle Davies believe the case wasn’t taken seriously, that officers didn’t pursue active enquiries, or keep an open mind about what might have happened to him.
They weren’t kept in the loop, didn’t hear from police for months and were not allocated a consistent reporting officer, which meant actions were missed because different officers were repeatedly having to familiarise themselves with the case by reading through extensive logs.
The family also thought father-of-three, Tony should have been graded as high risk instead of low, with his disappearance being out of character.
They also raised concerns over CCTV not being viewed or seized at the time police were made aware of it - in one case, footage had expired because no one went to collect it for four months.
The family said police were working to the hypothesis that Tony had taken his own life without considering possibilities that he could have been a victim of a crime.
They strongly believe there is circumstantial evidence to suggest he may have been murdered and hoped that by making a complaint to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), it would force officers to re-open the case.
But the IOPC referred the matter back to North Wales Police to be investigated internally and a report has now been published into their findings.
However, the family are still not satisfied and after appealing, say they are now seeking to raise funds for a judicial review.
The report, by Flintshire Chief Inspector, Siobhan Edwards upheld elements of the family’s complaint.
She says: “An appointed RO (reporting officer) or single point of contact was never identified for this investigation, as such North Wales Police have let Tony’s family down, as we have failed to carry out proper liaison with the family, keeping them up to date with the enquiries that we have carried out, the status of the investigation and what outstanding enquiries still needed to be completed.”
CI Edwards admitted this resulted in information “being missed, not followed through or not identified as being completed”.
The family’s concerns over the late viewing of some CCTV footage and the failure to seize some footage when officers were made aware of it was also upheld.
Police say had Tony’s disappearance been deemed a higher risk than low, no further resources would have been allocated.
CI Edwards also didn’t agree that officers hadn’t kept an open mind, saying logs show all lines of enquiry were pursued.
Detective Chief Inspector Brian Kearney, who was involved in the case, is quoted in the report as saying: “This is a tragic case in which the body of Anthony Haigh has not been found...The most likely hypothesis in this case is that Anthony has committed suicide by jumping off the breakwater into the Irish Sea.
“There is no evidence of any murder and the case has been reviewed initially by myself and subsequently by an independent T/DI and Det Supt Iestyn Davies.”
Making recommendations, CI Edwards states: “During my investigation into this complaint, I have been able to identify areas whereby as an organisation, we have let the family down...we have dealt with the investigation as per protocol and local guidelines, however, the bigger picture of putting the family and the investigation into Tony’s disappearance at the heart of our actions has been missed.”
She says that a single point of contact for the family would have prevented the errors, but goes on to state she was able to identify “areas of good work.”
Among the lessons learned is that a reporting officer to families should be designated at the earliest opportunity in missing persons cases so that information is not missed again.
But Tony’s ex partner, Michelle, the mother of one of his children, described the whole investigation as a “cover up” and said she won’t give up until she gets the truth.
It comes after the family told our sister paper the Daily Post they felt they were “hitting a brick wall” with police, claiming there was a lack of searches, “unexplainable” forensic evidence and reports locally suggesting Tony may have been taken.”
Michelle said: “I really don’t believe that police forces should be investigating themselves, we want someone from an outside force to look at this independently so we are planning to fundraise so we can take it to a judicial review.
“We believe 100% that Tony has been murdered and I have no doubt that we will get answers one day because we will never stop fighting for them.
“All we want is closure.” Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Tipton of North Wales Police professional standards department said: “Whilst no adverse findings were revealed concerning any of the officers or staff who were part of the missing person enquiry, there were some opportunities identified to improve the operational response to reports of missing persons and they are being progressed.”