How dad, 48, drowned in stream remains mystery
INQUEST FAILS TO CONCLUDE HOW MAN DISCOVERED AT GOLF COURSE PASSED AWAY
A MAN was found dead in a shallow stream at a golf course 18 days after he went missing from his friend’s home 200 yards away, an inquest heard. Father-of-six and grandfather of 11 Ian Foster, from Radcliffe, Bury, was discovered in water just two foot deep by a dog walker at Whitefield Golf Club, Higher Lane, in April.
A coroner ruled that his death by drowning was accidental, but no CCTV footage of his final movements was recovered and it is not clear how he ended up in the stream.
Following the hearing at Heywood Coroners’ Court on Thursday, Mr Foster’s family criticised police for not finding him sooner after he was reported missing.
His daughter Natalie said: “The police didn’t do enough. He should have been found a lot sooner. They should have had helicopters looking for him.
“Dad always had his wits about him. He was fit and healthy. [His disappearance] was very out of the ordinary.”
A GMP spokeswoman said Mr Foster’s disappearance was treated as a ‘high risk’ case and that appropriate protocols were followed.
The court was told the 48-yearold was found dead in the stream at the bottom of a steep embankment, around 12 foot tall, near the 12th hole of the golf course on April 3.
In the months leading to his death, Mr Foster, who had previously been in prison and was unemployed, was in good spirits, his family said.
His son Martin, who said there was no cause for concern, told the court: “He was in the best place I have ever seen him. He was dead happy.
“He was in his own house, he put food in the cupboards. It’s devastating.”
Pathologist Dr Charles Wilson recorded Mr Foster’s cause of death as drowning. A toxicology report found he had 3.1 milligrams of amphetamines per litre of blood in his system, and there were traces of cannabis.
Dr Wilson said amphetamine levels were ‘quite high.’
Mr Foster’s family told the court that he would take amphetamines ‘recreationally,’ once every two weeks.
His behaviour would not drastically change, his loved ones said, and he was still able to function.
Dr Wilson said Mr Foster had grazed and bruised knees,which suggested he had been crawling.
But he had no suspicious injuries that would have suggested third party involvement.
The court heard that Mr Foster stayed at his friend Martin Foster’s house the night before he went missing. He arrived at around 10.45pm on Thursday, March 15, and left about 8.30am the next morning, the court was told.
Martin Foster told the court his friend said he was getting the tram home, from at Besses O’ Th’ Barn station. CCTV footage showed he didn’t.
The alarm was raised when Mr Foster failed turn up to collect the remainder of his job seeker’s allowance money from his son, also called Martin Foster, later that day.
Martin looked after his dad’s finances and got his money out for him when it was paid into his account, the court was told.
The family became more and more concerned when Mr Foster failed to turn up for Sunday lunch later in the week and called police. “Nobody took it seriously when he reported it,” his son Martin told the court. His friend Martin Foster told the court a groundsman told him he saw him searching through the bushes at the golf course, perhaps for golf balls, which he would regularly take home. Coroner’s officer Alison Park told the court Det Insp Dean Purtill believed Mr Foster ‘slipped and fell into the stream.’
There was no evidence at the scene to confirm that was the case, the court heard. Coroner Catherine McKenna said: “I can rule out that there was third party involvement, and I can rule out that he took his own life.
“But how did he get there? Could he have been searching for golf balls? Could he have slipped on that bank; there is no evidence.”
Paying tribute to her dad after his inquest, Natalie added: “He was a happy person, he loved kids and doted on his grandkids.
“He was sorting himself out. He was nothing like who he used to be. He had an interview for a job at a warehouse lined up. He was at the best stage of his life.”
A spokeswoman for GMP said: “This is a tragic case and it is regrettable Ian’s family are disappointed with the service we provided.
“Searches to locate him were concentrated in the direction he was last seen by witness accounts and we carried out extensive enquiries to try and find him.”
Dad always had his wits about him. He was fit and healthy. It was out of the ordinary Ian Foster’s daughter Natalie