Teen found dead hours after family called police Parents call for rethink on how force deals with missing people
AFAMILY has called on police to review how they deal with missing persons reports after a teenager was found hanged in the garden.
Charlie Jay, 15, was found dead on the morning of November 4 at his Solihull home after his distressed parents reported him missing the night before, an inquest has heard.
His father, Simon Jay, discovered him missing at midnight and called the police an hour later.
Charlie was discovered by a neighbour at 8.15am. Nothing could be done to save his life.
An inquest into his death at Birmingham Coroner’s Court heard how he had seemed “normal” in the days leading up to his death.
Parents Simon and Lesley Jay said they had woken up and discovered Charlie was missing from the house in Cheswick Green.
Mr Jay said: “The back door was unlocked, which had been locked when I went to bed.
“I texted Charlie to say, ‘If you’re not back in ten minutes then I’ll call the police’.
“We were worried as he would usually text back, even if he didn’t come home.”
Mr Jay called the police at 1.10am on November 4, and the teenager was classed as a missing person.
This was later changed to “absent”, by the responder team led by Sgt Tanner who felt he might have snuck out with friends on Bonfire Night weekend.
At the inquest, Sgt Tanner said it would have been unlikely that officers would be available to attend the family’s address until 7am at the earliest.
He explained that even if Charlie had been classed as missing, he was not thought to be at risk to himself, so the call was not deemed “urgent”.
It was not until 8.15am that police arrived at the house and found Charlie’s body hanging in the garden.
The inquest heard how Charlie, who suffered with anger management issues, had been making “great strides” at school after working with school key worker Alicia Pegg and support counsellor Liam Laughton.
But a friend of Charlie’s told the court in a statement that “he had heard voices in his head”.
The friend said: “The last month it had been a bit off between us. He said he had voices in his head, but had said he could control it.
“He had anger issues and found it hard added.
“[That night] Charlie rang me. All I could hear was panting. That was at 10.30pm.”
The call was ended. The friend rang him and texted several times but could not get hold of him.
The court heard that on the day before his death Charlie had spent time with school key worker Alicia Pegg. She said: “Charlie had anger problems, he was impulsive and he didn’t think about the consequences of his actions,” said Ms Pegg. “But he was wonderful. He was laughing and joking.”
Senior coroner Louise Hunt recorded a narrative conclusion because “there is no evidence that Charlie intended to take his own life” adding: “Hence a suicide conclusion is not possible. This is simply an absolute tragedy.”
The coroner pointed to the evidence of his impulsive behaviour and testimony that he did not consider the consequences of his actions.
However, Charlie’s parents said their gut instincts were overlooked by police and should have held more weight.
“We will never really know if it would have made any difference when it came to Charlie,” said Mr Jay .
During the inquest, Sgt Tanner agreed that the missing person report could often be limiting.
He added that the scale of a family’s concern could be helpful in deciding an appropriate response in future cases. to stay calm,” the friend
We were worried as he would usually text back, even if he didn’t come home Father Simon Jay