- 6 hours ago
Highland Cops - Season 3 Episode 5 -
Fugitive in the Woods
Fugitive in the Woods
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00:00...is Britain's biggest beat.
00:03I'm injured. There's a car on fire.
00:06I've got three wounded persons.
00:08It is really easy to underestimate the Highlands.
00:12Patrolling 12,000 square miles of mountains, lochs and islands.
00:18We're going to need a launch to be able to go out and get this boy lifted.
00:22And searching for suspects deep in the wilderness.
00:25Please do the dog. Anyone hiding? Show yourself.
00:27The Highland cops must go above and beyond to protect their communities.
00:33We realised it was human remains, so we came back down and phoned the police.
00:37I think in the Highlands, the blue line is very thin.
00:40Tackling traditional rural crimes.
00:42It's absolutely related to a shotgun pellet.
00:45It's clear evidence that these birds are being persecuted.
00:49And crimes that plague the nation.
00:51Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out!
00:53Oh, good effort.
00:55Bags of a white crystalline powder.
00:57If you're getting one person off the street, then it's like you've done your job.
01:02This series goes inside the UK's most distinctive police force.
01:07We are close. We live in close-knit communities.
01:09All right, let's go.
01:10We look out for each other.
01:12To find out what it takes to walk the beach.
01:15There's monkeys, there's parrots.
01:17It's all completely out of our comfort zone.
01:19And keep the peace.
01:21You're just threatening to kill it.
01:22You said you were going to strangle it.
01:24In some of the most beautiful and wild places in the UK.
01:28The A9, the main road that connects the Highlands to the rest of Scotland.
01:51For the people who live here, it's a vital artery.
01:56But it also has a darker claim to fame.
01:59The A9 is a dangerous road.
02:07But it is the main route to the north of Scotland.
02:10So we've got everything from the HGVs and the lorries traveling with all the goods up to the shops and the towns.
02:15To a huge volume of tourist traffic as well.
02:23It's so sunny.
02:25I know.
02:26Half eight at night.
02:27You would think it's like one o'clock in the afternoon.
02:30How bright it is.
02:32Tonight, PCs Jamie Embry and Ross Nairn are on patrol near Aviemore.
02:39Go ahead.
02:41When a report comes in of an accident on the A9.
02:45Could you start making me get a response to the A9 car bridge?
02:50Call us against the A9.
02:52It'll be involved in RTC.
02:53Lots of screaming heard.
02:55Yeah, control from 4-1-0.
02:57As the night shift in, we'll start making our way.
02:59But we're quite a distance away.
03:02Yes, 2-1-0.
03:03Let's make it round.
03:06So it's plotting this side of the car bridge junction.
03:11Female is heard screaming and a male is grunting.
03:15Tourist, we'll dig.
03:22As the officers make their way to the scene, they receive updates.
03:27November 569.
03:29They've received ambulance saying the helicopter is en route,
03:32landing 15 to 20 minutes.
03:34They'll need road closed.
03:36Reports coming in suggest this is a head-on collision between two vehicles.
03:44When we hear of a head-on collision on the A9,
03:48a vehicle travelling at 60 miles an hour northbound,
03:50a vehicle travelling 60 miles an hour potentially southbound,
03:53you know, meeting together,
03:55you know, you're talking about 120 mile an hour impact.
03:57That generally means that we're going to be driving into carnage.
04:12Don't match up.
04:13When we arrived on the scene,
04:33there was bodywork of both vehicles strewn across the road.
04:37The pickup truck was still on the road.
04:40The minivan was wedged on top of the barrier.
04:53There are three people trapped inside this minivan,
04:57all from one family.
04:58The moment the fire brigade have stabilised the vehicle,
05:04it's kind of perched on quite a steep embankment
05:06that drops down quite a distance.
05:08So they've winched up a cable to make sure
05:10that that vehicle doesn't go any further
05:12off the barrier and down into the embankment.
05:16As the fire brigade make the vehicle safe
05:19and the paramedics tend to the family inside,
05:22Jamie and Ross need to start gathering evidence immediately.
05:26We don't know the reason why these vehicles have crashed
05:30and we have to establish that,
05:31we have to investigate that.
05:34So, you's all witnessed it, yeah?
05:36Yeah, yeah.
05:37Right, let me grab names and details.
05:39Particularly if it's a serious one
05:41where there's going to be injuries,
05:42potentially life-threatening injuries.
05:44Or did you get straight?
05:45You got straight out 4909 and Ross.
05:47Yeah.
05:48Yeah.
05:49Just vaguely moved into the next lane
05:51and there was no braking before impact.
05:53You can stay here, make sure you're on the pavement though
05:55and just don't go sort of past the back of this fire engine,
05:59okay, just so you don't see anything, all right?
06:02This is one of the worst crashes on the A9 this year
06:06and there is devastating news about the mother of the family
06:10who was a passenger in the minivan.
06:13So, it's a fatal.
06:15One female's passed away, unfortunately.
06:18It's been confirmed,
06:19so she's been confirmed life-extinctous now, so...
06:23The woman's husband and adult children
06:29are still being treated by paramedics.
06:34The other driver of the pickup truck,
06:36who is the sole occupant of the vehicle,
06:38is being rushed off to Rigmore Hospital in Inverness,
06:41but there are quite a few people in that other vehicle
06:43where the female is now deceased.
06:46I know that they were working on somebody else there as well.
06:48The police see, you know, on a daily basis
06:53things that people wouldn't believe.
06:56We deal with horrific injuries and horrific incidents,
06:59which does take its toll.
07:04I get great support from my wife at home,
07:06so if I ever need to talk about something,
07:09you know, she's there for me.
07:11You know, we obviously are sympathetic
07:13towards the rest of the family who were in that vehicle,
07:16but we still have to maintain our composure
07:19and try and get on with the job
07:20and figure out what exactly went wrong
07:22for their benefit as well,
07:24just to make sure that they understand
07:25why they've suddenly lost their mother.
07:29Sorry.
07:30Disease confirmed three life-threatening.
07:32Two.
07:32Two life-threatening, one deceased.
07:34One deceased, two life-threatening at the moment.
07:35Right.
07:36One eyewitness did have a clear view.
07:44He was driving immediately behind the minivan.
07:47One minute was fine,
07:48next minute it just veered over to the right
07:50and sadly impacted into the oncoming vehicle,
07:55so it was a pretty nasty head-on.
07:57I just told the boys to contact emergency services
08:00and then I just approached the first vehicle.
08:02There was no braking before impact.
08:06There was nothing to suggest
08:07there was any animals across the road
08:09or anything like that, so, yeah.
08:12But there's still a lot of work to do
08:14to find out the exact cause of this crash.
08:19Specialist collision investigators
08:21have just arrived on scene.
08:23They will work through the night
08:25in search of answers.
08:26Glencoe and Fort William
08:44are among the busiest tourist destinations in Scotland.
08:48But even with thousands of people passing through
08:51in the surrounding vast wilderness,
08:54it's all too easy to disappear
08:56and perfect for somewhere to hide.
09:03This evening, Glencoe cop Stephen Cooper
09:07and Roddy Sanderman
09:08are travelling north to Fort William
09:10to meet up with some colleagues.
09:13Together, they plan to search for someone dangerous
09:16who doesn't want to be found.
09:19Later on, we'll be attempting to try and apprehend
09:22a male who's a high-priority wanted person
09:25for us at the moment.
09:26But there's a number of things he's been accused of,
09:28one of them being a knife-point robbery,
09:30so he's quite a sort of dangerous individual.
09:32But a lot of road traffic offences as well
09:34in the course of his trying to escape.
09:36This male has evaded capture on a number of occasions.
09:43I was searching and came within a few feet of him.
09:46He exploded out from underneath a load of bushes
09:48in front of me and gave me the fright of my life,
09:50if I'm honest, because I wasn't quite sure
09:53what was going on.
09:53And he ran off, came close,
09:55but no luck, unfortunately.
09:59There's a dog unit starting at Inverness at 9 o'clock
10:02that will come straight down to Fort William to help us.
10:05I mean, he's never going to outrun a dog,
10:06so hopefully that will be the thing
10:08that changes the game for us and captures him this time.
10:19Stephen and Rory are part of a seven-strong team
10:23being deployed tonight
10:24to try to capture this 31-year-old fugitive
10:27who has been on the run for around a year.
10:31They've had a tip-off.
10:33He might be hiding in a tent in the woods
10:35near Loch Eilot, about 30 miles west of Fort William.
10:40He's in those woods.
10:44That's the lay-by there.
10:47So not too far from the road.
10:49OK.
10:50And Mark goes along.
10:52We give a very brief update on, you know,
10:54because if we can see the tent or something.
10:55The intel also suggests when the man will be in his tent.
11:01So we received some intelligence
11:03that the male's working on a fishing boat
11:06and the fishing boat's dropping him off nearby
11:09and he's staying overnight
11:10and then getting on the fishing boat
11:11early the next morning.
11:13And we have sort of times for when he's likely to be at the tent.
11:16So that's where we're going to go and find him.
11:21Or try to, anyway.
11:22That means they will need to go into the woods after dark.
11:27Tonight, the team is led by Sergeant Emma Mackay.
11:31He does run.
11:32I would rather us were all there, ready and waiting.
11:35So he will like it.
11:37That's been two or three times now he's run away from the police.
11:40I can provide bulk, just not speed.
11:45Also joining the team are dog handler Adam
11:48and his German shepherd, Wolf.
11:51If he does run, then just stand still, just stop
11:55and we'll get the dog with him.
11:57He is going to be quite dangerous.
12:01There's certainly intelligence about him carrying weapons
12:03and knives specifically.
12:06And given he's wanted for a knife point robbery as well,
12:08that kind of tends to ring true.
12:12Positive that we're going to get him, is what I would say.
12:14Enough resources and some good intel.
12:17So hopefully the game's stacked in our favour.
12:20OK, let's go.
12:23I think when someone's evaded cabochin for so long,
12:25you've got that bit between the teeth, I suppose, if you like.
12:29It's just like with any wanted person.
12:31We want to get them.
12:32They're wanted for a reason.
12:35Primary job of the police, isn't it?
12:36To catch the bad guy.
12:37You've got a lot of these in the shows, like bad ones like that?
12:51Yeah, all the time.
12:53A-9's a nightmare.
12:54I was in a nightmare.
12:57Investigations are underway into a fatal two-car collision on the A-9.
13:03Police have spoken to eyewitnesses.
13:05Now, they must secure physical evidence.
13:12I've turned away the cars that are there.
13:14Every other car has pretty much turned round anyway.
13:17There's one possible vehicle that has dash cam.
13:23He can't access it just now, but he's going to try.
13:26Have you got details of...?
13:27I've got details of them.
13:28But before dash cam can be examined, it is vital that specialist crash investigators are able to examine the scene in detail.
13:38Once all the emergency crews pack up their gear and leave, the road policing units that are here, they'll be taking numerous photos, videos, markings, just to establish exactly what's happened.
13:50Leading the team is Sergeant Callum McAuley.
13:55Our people from the police are usually first at these scenes are our divisional colleagues.
14:00They'll attend initially, and we'll come and take things over from there.
14:03We deal with the collision to its end point.
14:14The best opportunity that we have to go and recover evidence from what's happened at the scene is just now.
14:21I'll give that to you, sir.
14:23The first task tonight is to build a technical picture of the scene before the road is cleared.
14:31The road is closed for such a long period of time because once we open that road, all the evidence is impacted then.
14:39We'll do the grind marks, and then we'll do that vehicle.
14:42Mm-hmm.
14:43All right?
14:43Yeah.
14:44All good.
14:45Collision investigators form a conclusion about what's happened, purely worked out from the physical facts taken from the vehicles, taken from marks left on the road, what they've found through the detailed examination.
15:00They're carrying out a scan of the scene, which will be used as part of a report that will be put to the Procurator Fiscal.
15:07Investigators will also piece together a picture of those involved in the crash to see if any personal factors could have contributed to the collision.
15:17We have inquiry officers who will go and speak with families, witnesses, and the people who've been involved in the crash.
15:24One of the investigators, Ben, finds some documents in the minivan.
15:30Yeah, this is the agreement, Sarge.
15:32The minivan is a hire vehicle, picked up earlier that day.
15:35Confirmed home address in the United States.
15:38There's contact numbers on here as well.
15:41The fact that the driver of the minivan is not from the UK could be significant.
15:47Travelling here, for people who've never been to Scotland before, can be confusion, because we drive on the left.
15:54So confusion could be something that we would consider, something that we'll look at.
16:00Fatigue contributes to nearly one-fifth of Scotland's road traffic deaths.
16:04So police are looking for signs of brake marks on the road.
16:08If there aren't any, that may suggest the driver has fallen asleep at the wheel.
16:14We keep an open mind and we try to get to the bottom of what it is that's happened.
16:18But something that we will consider is, was tiredness a factor?
16:22Was a medical condition a factor?
16:24The next step will be to take the remains of each vehicle to a garage and examine them piece by piece.
16:31It's an exhaustive process.
16:34The majority of the work that we do around these crashes is done in the weeks afterwards.
16:41Once all this information has been gathered, the guys here will take it back and they will scrutinise it and analyse it.
16:52We're trying to support the families and make sure they have what they need to get them the answers for what's happened to why their loved one's no longer with us.
17:05It's nearly midnight in Fort William.
17:22In the darkness on the edge of town, police are on the trail of a wanted man.
17:27At the moment there's seven of us and a dog heading out here.
17:31Two of us are in sort of all black clothing.
17:34The hope is that they can sort of sneak in and get eyes on the campsite and see if he's there.
17:38And then we can all come in and back up along with the dog unit.
17:42It's only intelligence we've got at the moment that he's at this campsite.
17:45He's never actually been seen there by police officers.
17:47Our roads policing colleagues have been out and have seen the tents in position.
17:51So there clearly is somebody living there.
17:54It's just whether he's going to be there tonight.
17:57So we'll go along and see what we can see from the car.
18:03As soon as we can see anything, we'll just get everyone along and we'll just rush them, I think.
18:07Ready. Let's go.
18:10Emma and Roddy will take the lead.
18:13As soon as they give the signal, the rest of the team will go in.
18:21In gear, foot on the brake, ready to go.
18:23I think we'd all be lying if we didn't say we'd get an adrenaline rush out of something like this.
18:29We're going to come through there.
18:42We're going to come through nearby.
18:43We're going to be clear.
18:45I don't think it's this way.
19:13I think it'll be that worn path.
19:19In the dark, in this dense undergrowth, there are no clear lines of sight and no signs
19:28of anyone running or hiding.
19:35The police are struggling to find anything that might point them towards a fugitive.
19:43Then, deep in the woods, they find something.
19:50We've found the campsite.
19:57We're just trying to figure out if he's been here or not, or if he's in the area.
20:03So, we're not sure at the moment.
20:12The search dog, Wolf, is drawing a blank.
20:15Nothing at all.
20:16I took him down that way to see, but there's no back out of here.
20:22I think there's one way and one way out.
20:24Pretty dense down that way.
20:26Well, I don't think he's here.
20:28I don't think we scared him off.
20:30There's no noise in the woods.
20:31Huh?
20:32No noise whatsoever.
20:33Nah.
20:34There's clothing.
20:35There's empty alcohol bottles and cans and some empty food tins and things like that.
20:45So, it's quite likely that that's where he's been.
20:48For quite a while.
20:49Who knows how recently, but...
20:51Well, that's it.
20:52We just don't know, do we?
20:53Good effort, guys.
20:54Good effort.
20:55Just relax.
20:56You're all right.
20:58The bad man's not here.
21:00Woo!
21:01Although there's no one at home, there's enough to suggest that intel is correct on where the
21:06man has been hiding.
21:07That's his campsite as described.
21:10Now they know his location, the police hope the net is finally closing on Fort Williams'
21:16most elusive resident.
21:18Just getting a grid reference of the tent in case you need to make further attempts,
21:22because I suppose part of the problem was we struggled to find the camp initially.
21:29But we did get there relatively quickly.
21:31I don't think we did disturb him.
21:33But, yeah, if we need to come back again, if we can get a precise grid reference, then
21:38hopefully that means we can just get straight there.
21:41And a few more of us know the way out of the woods now.
21:43So, yeah, hopefully we can try again.
21:59Looks like he tried to booby trap it almost to his barbed wire across the entrance to the
22:03campsite.
22:04Where his tent's pitched and the efforts he's gone to certainly, which Ted suggests, he's
22:10not looking to be found any time soon.
22:13A bit of disappointment.
22:14We've not caught him, but satisfied that we did everything.
22:17We're good to catch him.
22:18There's a phrase that's overused to the max that they need to get lucky every day.
22:24We only need to get lucky once.
22:25I'm sure you've heard that a million times, but it's very true.
22:28You know, you know you'll get him eventually.
22:42Case Ness.
22:43One of the most sparsely populated parts of the Highlands.
22:47And one of its most beautiful.
22:49Sergeant Andy Mackay has been policing here for 15 years.
22:54It's a really nice place to live.
22:56There's lots of, like, really nice scenery.
22:59It's a small kind of close-knit community.
23:02You just get left basically to your own devices.
23:05We're kind of trusted up here to just get on with it.
23:09And it's only when things go completely pear-shaped that we would then get that input from further up.
23:16Today, Andy and his colleagues are looking for a white van, which has been reported stolen in Orkney.
23:23The police believe it may be in Wick, one of the biggest towns in Case Ness.
23:30We're going to go and see if we can find this stolen vehicle.
23:34The person that we suspected is a possibility for removing the vehicle is from a village just north of Wick.
23:45But they have associates in the town.
23:47So I'm just going to go past the area of town where they've sort of been known to frequent before and see if the vehicle is there.
23:59So we're looking for a white transit van with a bit of rust.
24:13So there's a white transit, but it's the wrong reg.
24:18It's the wrong reg.
24:27Go ahead.
24:32Yeah, it'll come up.
24:36Stevie G has found the vehicle on the other side of town, so we'll just get there quickly, quickly.
24:42Apparently, the driver says the vehicle was given to him, but we've just not had a statement saying it was stolen.
24:57You know, the fact that they've got a stolen vehicle and they're saying that it's really theirs is a bit suspicious.
25:04Let's go see what we've got on.
25:16The former member has been under arrest for suspicion and suspicion of theft of a motorbar, OK?
25:21Yeah.
25:22So you're not obliged to say anything.
25:24Anything you do say, maybe no to them, maybe you've never done.
25:26OK?
25:27Can we just...
25:28Pass it up to me.
25:29Are you on your own or have you got something away?
25:31No, no.
25:32He's got two dogs in the van.
25:33Oh, OK.
25:34Are they dogs friendly?
25:35No.
25:36Is there a way of getting the dog from the front of the van into the back?
25:39Or we'd have to take him out of the side door?
25:41Right.
25:42I just had to put him in the back.
25:44When did you buy the van?
25:45I didn't buy the van.
25:46It was bought by somebody else.
25:48And how have you come to be driving the van?
25:50Because they've asked me to go out and say I could borrow the vehicle, because I drive things a wizard.
25:53Yeah.
25:54Like, I put bikes across here, because I don't have a van on myself.
25:57Like, motorbikes or...?
25:58Yeah, two motorbikes, so I was delivering them to someone who bought them off me.
26:01OK.
26:02Ah, OK.
26:03The man claims he has borrowed this van, not stolen it.
26:08A search of his clothing uncovers something suspicious.
26:12I've got no reason to lie.
26:13What is it?
26:14That's what I'm asking you.
26:15If I knew I would tell you, it would probably work all day.
26:18Yeah.
26:19Genuinely, I'm not being anything but compliant.
26:20I've got no reason to lie.
26:21So it was at the beach.
26:22It was a wet house or something.
26:24You were on the beach and you found a small white packet containing a substance and decided to pick it up.
26:28I went at Castletown.
26:29OK.
26:30So the one just outside...
26:31It's an odd thing to pick up, no?
26:33I don't know what I pick up on my...
26:34I pick up bits of weird rocks.
26:36There's loads of bits of weird plastic.
26:37There's loads of bits of weird wood.
26:38Sorry.
26:39What were you going to do with it?
26:41Nothing.
26:42I was like, what is it?
26:43Just a souvenir from Castletown Beach?
26:45I completely forgot to even put it in my pocket.
26:46Genuinely.
26:47We'll need to put it away for testing, OK?
26:48Of course, yeah.
26:49If it comes back in a controlled substance, you'll get reported.
26:52The man then tells the police there may be something else in the van.
26:56You said you think there might be something in the van.
26:58No, I didn't say I think there might be.
26:59There could be something in the van.
27:00My friends, they do what they do.
27:02They smoke weed.
27:03Yeah.
27:04You said there might be cannabis in your backy pouch.
27:06Yeah.
27:07So would that be yours?
27:08What, my tobacco or my...?
27:10But I can avoid the weed, the cannabis that's in the tobacco pouch.
27:13So whose cannabis is it that's in the backy?
27:15It would probably be like mine, I assume.
27:18Probably be...?
27:19It would be mine if there is any.
27:20It would be mine.
27:21OK, right.
27:22The police decide they now have enough grounds to search the van.
27:26Take it from there.
27:27More officers arrive on the scene.
27:30Sometimes with these things, you just find a little bit
27:32and people are sort of like, oh, yeah, sorry, mate.
27:34I had it from the weekend or whatever
27:37and kind of use it as a way to kind of subterfuge
27:40to make the police go, oh, well, he's handed it over, that's fine.
27:43No need to worry.
27:44Like, here's a wee ticket slap on the wrist, don't do that again.
27:48But that's absolutely our doorway to say, right, well,
27:51what's in your van?
27:52What's in your pockets?
27:53It may turn out that, who knows,
27:55maybe there's a toolbox in the back that's got more in it.
27:58The front of the field, thanks.
28:11In Nairn, the two vehicles involved in a fatal crash on the A9
28:16are being examined by Police Scotland's Specialist Collision Investigation Unit.
28:22Force.
28:24Force.
28:25Force.
28:26Force.
28:27Contact.
28:29So we're taking photographs of the relevant damage.
28:31Make sure that there's no, or as best we can,
28:34rule out any pre-collision defects on the vehicle.
28:37So checking all the joints and stuff,
28:39making sure everyone's connected as it should be,
28:40albeit with crash damage it can be hard to tell.
28:44This is a chassis bike.
28:45Yeah.
28:46And even at the top, you can see it's all twisted.
28:47Yeah.
28:48Kind of supports the fact it's been quite a high-speed head-on collision.
28:50The investigators are also looking for clues about the movements of both vehicles before
28:56and immediately after the collision.
28:59So this is the part of the prop shaft.
29:14This is the bit that's been disconnected.
29:16So it was dragging underneath the vehicle,
29:18and that's quite significant because we had two grind marks on the road
29:23that led back to the prop shaft,
29:25which shows its direction of travel after impact,
29:29back to its resulting position.
29:31So it gives us evidence of where the vehicles moved after the collision.
29:34So that's quite significant for us.
29:37By matching parts of the car, like this prop shaft,
29:40to marks left on the road,
29:42the police can trace the movement of the vehicles before and after the collision.
29:48This will help pinpoint exactly where on the road the collision took place
29:53and could suggest one car had left its lane, causing the head-on crash.
30:01We tie it up to certain marks on the road,
30:03and if you could place a vehicle in the road,
30:05that can tell us where the collision exactly happened,
30:07and sometimes it can prove whether somebody's in the right or somebody's in the wrong.
30:13It's Sergeant Callum McCauley's job to put together a theory of what caused this crash.
30:19Collision investigators examine the vehicles in great detail.
30:23They examine the marks on the road in great detail,
30:25and it's pieced together that the Volkswagen Multivan was in...
30:29It was not travelling in its own lane at the time of the collision,
30:34and that's the responsibility of this collision rests with the driver of that vehicle.
30:40And there's one final, crucial piece of evidence.
30:44We have here dashcam footage of the collision.
30:53It gives us a really good opportunity for seeing what's happened.
31:00You can see that the van has crossed the middle of the road
31:03and collided with the oncoming vehicle.
31:06The van was being driven by an American tourist.
31:10When people visit Scotland, they tend to be trying to cover a lot of the...
31:15a lot of the country and the time that they're here.
31:18And that can sometimes lead to tiredness, there can be fatigue.
31:23It can be a case that they don't know,
31:26or can get confused or disorientated about what side of the road they should be travelling on.
31:30The thing that we can prove in this collision is that the van's been on the wrong side of the road.
31:39And the reason for that, it's almost immaterial.
31:42It's just that the van has been on the wrong side of the road,
31:45and ultimately that's led to the death of a lady,
31:49and a serious injury of her children and the driver of the oncoming vehicle.
32:00As things stand currently, the driver of the Volkswagen Multivan has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal
32:11for causing death by dangerous driving,
32:14and also for causing serious injury by dangerous driving as well.
32:18This driver has lost his wife and has seriously injured his adult children because of the way that he's driven the vehicle.
32:28The impact that that's going to have on him and on his family, that can't be changed.
32:33In Wick, police have stopped a man they believe is travelling in a stolen van.
32:45He has admitted there may be cannabis in the van, which allows them to do a more thorough search.
32:51Right, let's open the back first then.
32:55So he's been detained under Section 23 for a search of the van.
32:58Don't go near the back door. There's two angry dogs in the back.
33:03The dogs kind of adds an extra layer to it.
33:06You have to think what we're going to do.
33:08There's a health and safety aspect to it as well.
33:10That dog's barking that appears to be aggressive.
33:12What happens if it bites me?
33:14If we were sort of closer to Inverness,
33:16we'd probably ask for maybe the dog handler to come and help us.
33:22While the van is being searched, police test the man for drugs.
33:35I'm up positive for cocaine already.
33:37Waiting for the cannabis now, it takes eight minutes, but you're positive for coke?
33:40How?
33:41Yeah, because there's obviously cocaine in your system.
33:43Which is over the legal limit.
33:46Yeah, okay.
33:47The drive.
33:49There's no banknotes or something like that.
33:51What the ****?
33:53So please don't tell me you having cocaine in your system.
33:55Someone else's fault as well.
33:56No.
33:57No?
33:58No, I'm not saying that at all.
34:03You do a swipe.
34:04Sorry?
34:05You prove to me that you've not got cocaine in your system.
34:07Me?
34:08Yeah?
34:09I'd happily take a drug test right now.
34:10Do it.
34:11See?
34:12I want to bruise it.
34:13These aren't ****y tests.
34:14It's not how it works, though.
34:15We're here to test you.
34:16No.
34:17Okay?
34:18There was a certain aroma of something in the air when he was talking.
34:22It was just a pile of rubbish, to be honest.
34:24Like, we kind of all saw through it straight away.
34:27Positive for cannabis and cocaine.
34:29The man has now tested positive for two controlled substances, meaning he will be arrested.
34:37But the search of the van has just started, and his troubles are just beginning.
34:42Bladed article.
34:43Where?
34:44It's more of a Stanley knife, but it's easy access.
34:47Where's the blade?
34:49It's just Stanley knife blades.
34:51Is that a locking one?
34:53It looks like it locks you.
34:55The lock knife, it was within his reach, which means that he's therefore in possession of
35:00it, and it's an offence to be in possession of a lock knife in a public place.
35:04If it had been stored in a toolbox in the back of the van, then that would be okay, because,
35:10you know, people have legitimate reason to have lock knives and transport them about
35:14the place.
35:15This is the powerfully so far that we've found.
35:17So we've got two pipes there, a spoon for melting, sootting drugs on.
35:22And he's already been showing that he's got drugs in his system already.
35:27Oh, another knife.
35:28And that was in the jacket pocket?
35:30That was jacket pocket wedged beside the passenger door.
35:36We'll put you in the van, we'll get you back to the office, we'll get you booked into
35:39custody, we'll get you your rights.
35:41We'll have to do the road traffic procedures, because you're giving us a positive
35:45specimen at the roadside, okay?
35:48And then once we've done that, we'll interview you.
35:50Yeah, so I'm arresting you in terms of road traffic act 1988, so I arrest you for failing
35:55drug rights for cannabis and cocaine, so you're not obliged to say anything, but anything
35:58you do today will be noted, and maybe using evidence.
36:01Do you understand that?
36:02Yeah.
36:04Mind your head.
36:15Mind your head.
36:16Could you still understand that?
36:17With the man in custody, the police now need to negotiate with the dogs.
36:22Come on, there you go.
36:25It's all right.
36:27Have you got another treat?
36:28Yeah.
36:29It's all right, he's just terrified, that's all.
36:31He's not going for me, he's just a bit scared.
36:35There you go...
36:36there you go.
36:39Yeah, he likes the treat.
36:40With the dogs happy, officers can finally make a thorough search of the van.
36:53And although nothing else significant is found,
36:56there is already enough to charge this man with drugs and weapons offences.
37:01On the face of it, he doesn't appear to be the kind of Pablo Escobar of Orkney,
37:05but the fact that he has a little bit of cannabis on him,
37:08that's absolutely our gateway to make these further inquiries,
37:12just to be doubly sure of what we're dealing with.
37:27North and west of Inverness, the landscape empties of people.
37:31The hills and mountains here are amongst the wildest and most remote parts of the United Kingdom.
37:46Usually, officers of the police mountain rescue team, like Katie Johnson,
37:51would expect to be sent here to rescue a walker or climber in distress.
37:55But today, they have a different and upsetting job to do.
38:02There has been a discovery of some human remains.
38:07It's really difficult to get to.
38:09So we're there to make sure everyone gets their stuff there safely
38:11and then recover the remains out of the area once we're done.
38:14You try not to jump to any conclusions of why they're there and who they are,
38:21but it definitely raises just a lot of questions in your mind about what's happened.
38:25The body is unidentified.
38:28It's in a remote location and the remains don't appear to be linked to any missing persons report.
38:34The task of the police is to help identify this individual
38:37and decide if they have been a victim of crime.
38:40So quite a lot of it is really unexplained.
38:45But what we do know is that the remains have been there for quite a long time.
38:50We have to treat it like there's potentially some suspicious circumstances until we rule it out.
38:56So we are going to preserve any evidence that has been left there.
39:02Police are managing this incident from a small station deep in the Western Highlands.
39:10We have to take care of our bodies.
39:12Katie and her team are briefed on the body's discovery by crime scene manager Kevin Bunn.
39:19About 1,500 hours on Wednesday, two local residents were walking their dogging area.
39:23When they became aware of what they appeared to be hiking boots
39:27and items of clothing scattered nearby,
39:30the thing felt like a bone inside the leg
39:32and it's been identified as a femur.
39:35It's possible the remains have been there for a long period of time, possibly over a year.
39:42It raises a lot of questions of why they were there and who they are.
39:47Yet you always expect if the remains of somebody is found,
39:51there is information out there that someone's looking for them.
39:55So it is really unusual to have somebody found
39:59and not know any circumstances surrounding it.
40:03It's supposed to rain this afternoon, so a good chance we're all getting soaked.
40:07I'll leave it to your discretion, Mountain Rescue guys,
40:09if you think the weather's closing in and when you go off the hill,
40:11then let me know and we'll make that decision.
40:14Yeah, four o'clock I think the weather is really meant to change,
40:17so it'll be good if we kind of get towards that time
40:21and that we'll just take stock and see where we are with it.
40:23Yeah. Any other issues?
40:25Okay, we'll go for it then.
40:33The biggest challenges today is the location.
40:36The terrain is very remote.
40:39It's boggy.
40:43We're very much open to the elements.
40:45We look to try and establish,
40:48is there any criminality involved in the first instance?
40:50On the face of it,
40:51it looks like it's maybe someone who's lost in the hillside,
40:54but we have to keep an open mind.
40:59A team of forensic anthropologists will accompany Katie on the mountain,
41:04which will be treated like any other crime scene.
41:08Once we get to the locusts and start the recovery of the remains,
41:12it's a process that will take them as long as it takes.
41:15It's something that needs to be done methodical
41:17to make sure that they capture everything there that we need.
41:21And it's something you can't always plan
41:23because you just don't know what you're going to find
41:24once you start moving things.
41:27Our first and foremost role is policing.
41:29So if it's not a sightseeing spot,
41:32if it's not a well-known walking spot,
41:34why have they taken themselves there?
41:35So it could be that they've gotten themselves in some sort of confusion.
41:39If people are suffering from hypothermia,
41:42they can do strange things that you wouldn't normally do,
41:45and they could take themselves into that kind of area.
41:48Out here, it's the end of the road.
41:55The only way forward is on a specialist vehicle
41:58loaned by a local gamekeeper.
42:02I've been on one before, and yeah, they're sturdy,
42:05but they are not comfy.
42:06See whose breakfast comes first.
42:10So the area itself, it was pathless,
42:13very difficult ground to walk in.
42:15It was on a large estate that we had to access
42:19via 4x4 trucks and thereafter an Argo cat
42:23to assist us to get to the location.
42:25You can see a road, but that's way off in the distance,
42:29and there are no paths to get into the area that we were.
42:32So it's not somewhere you'd expect anyone to go walking,
42:36especially someone with no equipment with them.
42:45Four hours after leaving Inverness,
42:52Katie finally reaches the spot where the remains lie,
42:55and her investigation can begin.
43:03Were you thinking that for the forward?
43:04Yeah, that's where we've gone up and looked.
43:06They've come here.
43:07They've not fallen after the fact.
43:08Pretty sure this is them.
43:11There's what we're hoping is maybe a hat with a lot of moss on it.
43:15If someone hadn't have pointed out initially
43:17and you were walking at a little bit of a distance,
43:19you wouldn't have even seen the remains there.
43:22The moss has grown over,
43:24so it almost looks as if it's become part of the earth itself.
43:29So it had been there for some length of time.
43:32If it had been another couple of years
43:34that it hadn't been discovered,
43:35it might never have been discovered at all.
43:37At the moment, I'd go white male.
43:40So what determined it was male?
43:42So at the back of male skulls,
43:44there's a really big, bumpy bit.
43:47Because males have heavier heads,
43:48they have more muscles that go up the back of the neck,
43:50so the bone produces more bone
43:52because it needs a bigger surface area for that muscle to attach.
43:56It's a start,
43:58but it's all the forensics team can conclude
44:00from these remains and the clothes nearby.
44:03As the weather closes in,
44:07the team must leave the mountainside for the day.
44:12The body was in a difficult position,
44:15so we have to get the remains out of that
44:18in a respectful way,
44:20but also in a safe way
44:21that we are taking it up hills
44:24and through an area with no pass and everything like that.
44:26So our responsibilities are both to make sure
44:30that we're gathering everything respectfully,
44:32but also the forensic opportunities are saved.
44:39It's bringing up more questions and answers at the moment.
44:42The kind of choices for footwear and outerwear
44:47is not really what you generally see for hill walkers
44:52or anything like that.
44:53And they had a fluorescent vest on again,
44:56which is more for somebody that's by the roadway
44:59and in the dark,
45:02so it doesn't kind of really fit in with that.
45:04So again, it just kind of...
45:05It leaves us with more questions at the moment.
45:08The police will need to return to this hillside again
45:12to see if there are any more remains or clothing
45:15which could help solve the mystery of who this was
45:19and why he died out here.
45:21I think it's difficult to put into words
45:24how each sudden death feels to you.
45:28You feel a sense of sadness
45:30that this person has died alone in this remote area.
45:35It's difficult to not know who they are
45:39and not be able to provide a family
45:41with answers of where their loved one has come to rest.
45:49It's not something you want to leave unknown,
45:52so we have to look at every avenue we can
45:55to try and identify this person.
45:57In Inverness, PC's Dan Shield and Jimmy Sutherland
46:14are responding to a call from the post office.
46:18We've had a call from the mail sorting office
46:21to say that they've got a package
46:24which possibly contains cannabis
46:27and the smell of it is the tell-tale signs.
46:32We're just going to go down there and have a look
46:34and see if it is cannabis, take it back for testing.
46:39Drugs coming through the post is on the increase.
46:42It's easier to distance yourself
46:44when it's coming through the post
46:45because you're not in possession of them,
46:48so it's a lot harder to find the person
46:51that's actually sent the items itself.
46:55Because the mail is becoming
46:56a more popular method of drug supply,
46:59police across the UK are sending sniffer dogs
47:02to sorting offices on a regular basis.
47:06This morning, a police dog got a whiff of two packages.
47:10So, both of the items are here.
47:15It was the police dog that sniffed them out.
47:17In fact, the police dog actually tore that one.
47:21It was so convinced there was something in it.
47:26The dog has identified one of the packages
47:28as containing some kind of controlled drug.
47:32We'll just get them opened up.
47:33We'll make sure that they do contain drugs
47:35and then we'll get the packages seized.
47:36Yeah, it's not really much of a smell, to be honest.
47:43I don't think...
47:44Is that the one the dog's done?
47:45And that's been torn open as well, so...
47:47I think if it wasn't for the dog, I think...
47:51It's a wee bit of a smell, but...
47:53I think it might be what we call as cannabis edibles.
47:57Ah, I see.
47:57So, it might be a...
47:59a kind of a liquid kind of form of cannabis.
48:06I'm not even going to open that here, just in case.
48:12So, I won't open that just now, Ali,
48:15just because I'm just seeing that there is quite a lot of sort of...
48:19Yeah, you can see...
48:19Powder, et cetera, obviously.
48:20We don't know what that is.
48:21I don't want to open it up in case...
48:23Yeah.
48:23...it is anything of kind of harmful nature
48:25or anything like that at all.
48:26Understood.
48:27So, we'll just seize that
48:28and we will do our own testing on it back at the office
48:32just so that we're not opening it up, obviously, in here.
48:34Thank you, though. Thank you.
48:37Whilst the officers can't say yet what this first package is,
48:41there's little doubt what's in the second package.
48:45Strong smell of cannabis coming from that one.
48:47Yeah, that one was more straightforward.
48:51Cannabis is kind of a sort of sweet, sort of sickly sort of smell.
48:55Yeah, they've obviously...
48:57You can see they've wrapped that up a number of times
48:59in an effort to disguise it,
49:01but they've not done it very well.
49:03Then, an unexpected breakthrough.
49:07The gentleman who says this is for him
49:10is at the customer service point right now.
49:13Oh, is he?
49:13Yeah.
49:14Oh, that's Andy.
49:14I was going to say, that's never happened before.
49:16That's what...
49:17But he's coming to get this.
49:19Oh, right.
49:20He's obviously wanting him in a hurry.
49:23Dan and Jimmy will give the bad news to the waiting man.
49:27Not, perhaps, the delivery he was expecting.
49:31So, we've obviously been taken here or asked to come here
49:35because they have seized a package
49:36which strongly smells of cannabis.
49:39At this moment in time, you're under caution
49:40that you're not obliged to say anything,
49:42but anything you do say will be noted and may be using evidence.
49:43Do you understand that?
49:44Yeah.
49:45What have you got to say about that?
49:48No comment.
49:49No comment.
49:49OK.
49:50No worries to talk.
49:51We'll see where we're going to go from here just now.
49:52OK.
49:54Honestly, we need to go back to the station.
49:56We obviously need to test it
49:57just to obviously make sure that it does obviously contain a drug.
50:00You can't be ordering your controlled drugs through the post.
50:03You're eligible for what we call a recorded police warning.
50:05It was beneficial just to give him the recorded police warning
50:08because it just gets the matter sort of dealt with.
50:10Accepting a recorded police warning isn't an admission of guilt.
50:12I said it's a warning, OK, for you.
50:16If he was to re-offend
50:18or if he was to be found in possession of drugs again,
50:21then he would not be eligible
50:22to then receive the recorded police warning again.
50:25The man is sent on his way without his post.
50:30Finding suspicious items in the post, predominantly drugs,
50:34happens about two or three times a week on average.
50:38And this system, we like to think, proves highly effective.
50:41We've both got a record of it happening,
50:43so there is the proof that these items are being intercepted.
50:49It is a banned substance.
50:51It's a controlled substance.
50:52So if it gets sent through the Royal Mail network
50:55and we intercept it,
50:57then our job is to contact the police,
50:58and that's what we do.
50:59And that's one thing that I would love to change,
51:03would be to have no drugs within Inverness.
51:05I know that's probably an unrealistic goal.
51:07However, fighting the war against drugs, crime,
51:11that's ultimately what I joined the job for,
51:14and that's what I will keep on doing
51:15and I will carry on doing.
51:17I think he would have seen the police van.
51:20And thought.
51:21Maybe that's for me.
51:23I thought, oh, yeah, I'm ordering cannabis.
51:25In the mountains of the North West Highlands,
51:35police still have to confirm the identity of the man
51:38whose remains were found on a remote hillside.
51:42Today, Dan Sutherland,
51:44who is part of the mountain rescue team,
51:46is heading back to the location
51:48to continue the investigation.
51:50I don't know who they are,
51:53but we're coming back today to undertake further searches
51:55to see if we can find further remains.
51:57So we've got victim recovery dogs with us today.
52:00They're trained in recovery
52:02and sniffing out of human remains,
52:06so fingers crossed we can get some good results with them today.
52:11The remains couldn't provide enough DNA to help identification.
52:15Police hope Dan and the dogs unit
52:19might be able to find more remains for DNA testing
52:22or any clothing and effects
52:25that might have been missed in the original search.
52:29This is the first job I've come across
52:32where it's been really difficult to identify a body.
52:36The majority of bodies that we find
52:38tend to have some form of ID
52:41or there is an outstanding missing person
52:43where we've got a very good idea
52:45of potentially who they could be.
52:47But in this case, it's a bit more difficult.
52:51We just don't know anything about him or the family
52:54and how he's come to be and how he's even got here.
52:59These boys are going to have to move, eh?
53:02First challenge of a day.
53:06Go on.
53:07Go on.
53:08Go on.
53:10Go.
53:18I always worry with young calves as well,
53:21like cows and calves, never great.
53:25That's it.
53:26Good girl.
53:33Where the body is located,
53:34it's just quite a really remote section of land.
53:38Very little mobile phone signal, if any.
53:40It's not a place where generally the public would be seen at all.
53:45So it was really quite surprising to find out
53:47that someone had been found there.
53:49Obviously, we don't know how he's died,
53:51but it is sad that you can just lay down
53:55or fall down on the ground
53:56and you won't come across you for years and years.
53:59Dan will be accompanied by cadaver dogs Cooper and Gus
54:09and dog handlers Adam and Daniel.
54:11So I think the body was here, was it?
54:23Was the body just here by the locker, was it?
54:26If there are more human remains on this hillside,
54:29the hope is the dogs will find them.
54:31Today we've got two different dogs,
54:33both trained to the same standard.
54:35One's obviously a Cocker Spaniel.
54:36He's nice and energetic, he's ready to go.
54:38And we've got a slightly younger Labrador.
54:41Both dogs are trained to indicate on decomposition
54:44by means of barking.
54:46Come!
54:46No, come!
54:49All right, he's going to go back.
54:50Before long, it looks like Cooper has found something.
54:56Cooper!
54:58Whether there's a scavenger that's a burrow
55:01and it's taking something...
55:03That's right, they've been cool.
55:06The dog's given an indication.
55:09There's a hole here, so...
55:12Just see if anything's been taken down there by any animals.
55:15It looks like a burrow because there's obvious marks
55:23of burrowing further in.
55:25Some sort of small animal.
55:27Where the body was found, obviously,
55:29just behind, just over to our side here,
55:31like so, dogs indicating here.
55:34But the burrow is too narrow and deep
55:37for the officers to see anything themselves.
55:41Cooper's indicated a sort of burrow
55:43relatively near to the recovery site.
55:45We just can't get to at the moment.
55:46It's impossible to say what it is,
55:48but I suspect it's a bone
55:49and it's very specific and very close
55:51to the body site location,
55:53which would indicate he's definitely right.
55:56The team search for the rest of the afternoon,
55:59but the dogs don't find anything else.
56:02If there are more remains on this hillside,
56:05it looks like they may be buried forever.
56:07I don't think it was completely unexpected.
56:29It's always going to be difficult,
56:30but I was kind of hoping we'd get at least a bone or two.
56:36Maybe that's just an indication of how long the body's been there.
56:39There will be no more searching on this hill,
56:45but the investigation into this man's identity
56:48and clues about his fate will go on.
56:52They're going to have to start doing a lot more digging
56:57through historical records of missing people
56:59from not just within Scotland,
57:02across all the UK forces
57:04and potentially international as well.
57:08Some people just don't get traced.
57:10They don't get found.
57:10And when we are found like this,
57:14then they don't necessarily all can be identified.
57:16They don't have to be identified.
57:46Next time, please deal with a crash on Skye's main road.
58:04We need to go with a casualty further away that way, please.
58:07Just in case the car explodes.
58:09In Inverness...
58:10Stop!
58:11Officers race to catch a fleeing suspect.
58:14Stop!
58:15And on the Isle of Skye...
58:17Hey, don't you help me?
58:19..a major drug operation is rumbled.
58:22I'm going around room to room
58:23and there's cannabis plants everywhere.
58:26Oh no!
58:26Don't you help me?
58:28I'm going around one of a sudden you'll think of this stuff.
58:29Please wait.
58:30I think so.
58:31Good job.
58:32Oh no, man.
58:34Do you.
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