Mystery over how tragic dad died on moors
MAN’S FAMILY ‘WILL NEVER GET ANSWERS THEY WANT’
A LOVING dad’s body was found on moorland days after a police search was launched for him.
The body of James Henry, 33, was discovered in a stream on Rooley Moor, in Rochdale, by a biker ten days after he had been reported missing by his family in September last year.
A coroner said he believed James, who had ‘intermittent mental health problems’, perished after becoming cold, confused and disorientated, meaning he was ‘unable to rescue himself.’ The inquest heard he had died of hypothermia.
However, his devastated relatives now say they fear they may ‘never get answers’ after the coroner said he was unable to say definitively how or why he ended up at the ‘remote and secluded’ location.
Father- of- three James split his time between his mum’s house in the Syke area of Rochdale and Accrington in Lancashire, where his partner and youngest son lived, the inquest heard.
He came to Rochdale on September 14, and that night he was said to have been involved in what the coroner described as a ‘fracas’ in a pub. He went to hospital the following day after collapsing at home, however blood tests showed no abnormalities and he left the hospital before he could receive any further advice or treatment, the hearing was told.
He was last seen by his family on September 16, when he told them he was ‘going home’ to Lancashire the following day, his sister Margaret Duszna told the hearing. But he was never seen by his family alive again.
The inquest heard that James, who had spent some time in prison earlier in his life, had been seen by police near his Rochdale home the following day, on September 17, after they were called to reports of a man with a knife.
He was briefly detained and searched however he was co-operative, no weapons were found and he was allowed to return home, where it is believed he spent the night. That was the last confirmed sighting of him before the alarm was raised and a missing report was filed with police by his family on September 19 after he failed to return to either of his homes.
His family put out social media appeals and spent days frantically searching for him and following up any potential sightings. There were numerous unconfirmed sightings of him, but none were verified.
His body was found at around 11.30am on September 29, lying face down in a stream running through a ditch off Rooley Moor Road on the moors north of Rochdale near the border with Lancashire.
His family said they had no idea why he may have been there.
The inquest heard he had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression in 2016. The last time he had taken medication for these was in 2017, his GP said in a statement.
However, the hearing was also told he sometimes suffered with ‘paranoid delusions’ which were exacerbated when he had been drinking. Several times in 2019 he contacted police making various allegations. In the last call to police he made before his death, he claimed someone was trying to kill him and that there had been a £20,000 ‘bounty’ placed on his head.
However, the hearing heard from a police officer that these accounts were always ‘incoherent’ and related to Mr Henry’s mental health, and were not followed up.
Mr Flanagan recorded a conclusion of misadventure following the inquest at Rochdale Coroners Court.
“He has become disorientated and confused,” he added. “He has become cold and has been unable to rescue himself and has died because of that.”
Speaking afterwards, his siblings Margaret, Paul and Mark, and brotherin-law Peter, said: “He was just a loving father, a loving brother, a loving son.”
Asked if the inquest had brought any closure they said: “No. We just want answers about what happened and why he was there. But I’m not sure we’ll ever get them now.”
We just want answers about what happened and why he was there James Henry’s family