Death pact? No, we’re out on a camping trip!
Family are ‘rescued’ by police after suicide fears
TheY may have been expecting a wilderness experience during a camping trip to a tiny island.
But instead a group of friends and their children found themselves the focus of a huge search and rescue operation.
David henderson had planned a family break at Loch Leven, Kinross-shire, with two friends and their three children.
The group parked their cars at the lochside and headed out to reed Bower island.
But only hours after arriving on Sunday afternoon they were at the centre of a ‘rescue’ involving police cars, search helicopters, fire engines and rescue boats. it is
‘Like nothing I’ve ever experienced’
believed the alarm was raised by a passer-by who spotted the group of heavy rock music fans and called the authorities, concerned they were intending to carry out a suicide pact.
Mr henderson, 39, who teaches modern languages at a school in Glasgow, has now criticised the police officers who smashed his car window in search of a suicide note.
he said: ‘We just went camping, we were having a good time, listening to music, painting our faces – one of the kids had even fallen asleep – when we saw searchlights in the distance.
‘at first we wondered what it was but then they started to get closer and all of a sudden loads of police and fire crews turned up and bundled the kids into their boat.
‘it’s like nothing i’ve ever experi- enced. according to the police, the operation even had the code name “Storm incident”.
‘i understand that they were simply trying to rescue us, but we didn’t need to be rescued.
‘at the beginning of the night we were warm and having a laugh, by the end we found ourselves dumped on the shore in the cold with damaged cars.’
Mr henderson – along with friends Panagiotis Filis, a lecturer at aberdeen University, and civil engineer ross anderson – were questioned by police and checked over by paramedics before being released. Children Jude anderson and natalia Teo, both ten, and seven-year-old andrew vassiliadis were also given checks.
Mr henderson, a singer in heavy metal band nyctopia, said: ‘There must have been 22 vehicles there.’ he added: ‘it was all a bit over the top but it won’t put us off camping again in the future, though this time we will maybe go somewhere more private.’
a police spokesman said: ‘There was concern for people who were traced safe and well.’