Skip to playerSkip to main content
BRITCOM 4
  • 7 hours ago

Category

📺
TV
Transcript
00:00The Highlands and Islands of Scotland is Britain's biggest beat.
00:08I'm injured. There's a car on fire.
00:11I've got three wounded persons.
00:13It is really easy to underestimate the Highlands.
00:17Patrolling 12,000 square miles of mountains, lochs and islands.
00:23We're going to need a launch to be able to go out and get this boy lifted.
00:27And searching for suspects deep in the wilderness.
00:33The Highland cops must go above and beyond to protect their communities.
00:38We realised it was human remains, so we came back down and phoned the police.
00:42I think in the Highlands, the blue line is very thin.
00:45Tackling traditional rural crimes.
00:47It's absolutely littered with shotgun pellet.
00:50It's clear evidence that these birds are being persecuted.
00:53And crimes that plague the nation.
00:56Oh, good effort.
01:00Bags of a white crystalline powder.
01:02If you're getting one person off the street, then it's like you've done your job.
01:07This series goes inside the UK's most distinctive police force.
01:12We are close. We live in close-knit communities.
01:14All right, let's go.
01:15We look out for each other.
01:17To find out what it takes to walk the beach.
01:21There's monkeys, there's parrots.
01:22It's all completely out of our comfort zone.
01:25And keep the peace.
01:26You're just threatening to kill it.
01:27It seems you were going to strangle it.
01:29In some of the most beautiful and wild places in the UK.
01:33Caithness, a remote landscape exposed to the storms of the North Sea and the winds that whip in from the North Atlantic.
01:55We're the furthest north that you can get on mainland Britain.
02:02We would definitely classify ourselves as an island on the mainland.
02:06Sergeant Stephen Todd's base in Wick is as close to Oslo as it is to London.
02:16His beat covers more than 600 square miles.
02:20It's a fairly big patch for minimal staff and being a sergeant and four cops sometimes.
02:27It's a huge area we've got to cover.
02:29We are very remote.
02:32We are left for our own devices in terms of we've just got to manage the risk ourselves nine times out of ten.
02:39And any additional resources that we need, you're looking at a couple of hours at least before we can get them to us.
02:48This is a place which attracts those hoping to escape from the world.
02:53And that can bring its own policing challenges.
02:57Maybe we'll have a quick brief here before we go.
03:00Today, Stephen and a specialist dog handling unit from Inverness are providing backup to the SSPCA on a potentially dangerous assignment.
03:10We'll do a soft approach first. If that doesn't work, then OSU. They're fully kitted up. They'll force entry if need be.
03:16An SSPCA officer was investigating allegations of neglect at a remote property when they were threatened with a dog.
03:25It's an SSPCA-led warrant. So it's just be mindful of your surroundings and don't take any unnecessary risks.
03:33Now the SSPCA are returning with a warrant to seize the dog, along with dozens of other animals they suspect are being kept in bad conditions.
03:45We know at least one of the dogs is subject to a dog control notice, which basically means that a dog's potentially bitten someone previously.
03:52Well, we're going to be in full riot gear anyway. Just our level of protection is what we need to put that on.
03:58The dog handling team are carrying shields that can deliver an electric charge to an animal if it becomes aggressive.
04:05The best way to describe it is a taser in a shield form. We know there's potentially one aggressive dog there. We know there's six in total.
04:15I've got to treat all six dogs as being aggressive until I can prove otherwise.
04:19The dog they are most worried about is a German Shepherd crossed with a Belgian Malinois, a breed known for its strength and fierce bite.
04:28It is aggressive. So she said it probably will be likely to try and bite. We use them in the police.
04:34We know what their capabilities are of them.
04:39Yeah, go ahead. We're just getting in the motors now.
04:42But dogs are just one of Stephen's worries. He's been told to expect a menagerie of exotic animals.
04:49There's parrots. There's some monkeys there as well. So it's all completely well out of our comfort zone.
04:56Well, we need doggy treats. I wonder if dog treats work on monkeys as well.
05:00I feel sad for the animals because they're not kept in a suitable condition for them.
05:06For example, monkeys should be out in the jungle somewhere rather than in Caithness, basically living in a shack.
05:13The woman they are about to visit lives on an isolated stretch of coast.
05:20She recently moved here from England.
05:22There's definitely that mentality that Caithness was so far away.
05:26Who's going to stop them type of thing.
05:28But I'll be brutally honest, if people are kind of wanting to hide in the shadows,
05:32they need to go to cities for that.
05:34It actually, by coming up to places that are rural, they stand out more.
05:40People think they come to the ends of the earth because they're going to kind of escape it all,
05:44whereas actually they flag pretty quick on our radars.
05:48I think that's her van. That's her van.
05:50The grey one?
05:51Yeah, so she's just down.
05:53So if we...
05:54You see it, that's her house there, right in front of you.
06:02I've got a copy of the Warrens, so I'll come down with whoever, with Dave.
06:06Try and make a peaceful entry.
06:08But the dogs are in the back.
06:09See no roof and a chimney coming out?
06:10Yeah.
06:11That's where the dogs are.
06:12Cool.
06:13Will we head up?
06:14All right, so it's padlock shut as well.
06:20Stephen is prepared to confront an angry dog.
06:25Hi.
06:26Sorry we've got to meet under these circumstances.
06:28We're here assisting the SSPCA, expect that they have a warrant.
06:33But the owner is also prepared and is in no mood to let anyone in.
06:39You've come to kill my Belgian Malinois.
06:41Chill him, aren't you?
06:42He's just going to kill him.
06:43Take him away.
06:44He's going to kill him.
06:52While some parts of the Highlands are isolated from the rest of the UK,
06:56in its only city, others are grappling with the worst aspects of modern crime.
07:02Today, DC Ashley Templeton will be involved in an operation
07:07targeting the city's illegal drug trade.
07:11There is a drugs problem in Inverness.
07:14The drugs will be brought to Inverness by organised crime groups
07:20who originate predominantly in England,
07:22whether it be London, Newcastle, Birmingham, any big city.
07:26It's nearly the end of Ashley's shift,
07:29but the police have just received a tip-off about a suspected dealer
07:33connected to one of these groups known as the Frankie Line.
07:38Intelligence says she's currently dealing from her home address
07:41and she's sitting on multi-ounce quantities of controlled drugs.
07:45There is fairly recent intelligence on it as well for operating for county lines.
07:51About six weeks ago, she was assessed to be working for the Frankie Line.
07:55They're a Birmingham-based organised crime group.
07:58They've been putting out synthetic heroin that's been responsible for a number of drugs deaths.
08:05Synthetic heroin is generally a lot stronger than traditional heroin.
08:11There was a spate of overdoses and that was induced by a synthetic opiate
08:17that the Frankie group ended up using.
08:20So the plan is effect entry and just to contain the occupants of the address.
08:24Following that, we'll be looking to crave a search warrant.
08:30As the intel has just come in, the police have had no time to arrange a search warrant.
08:36But because the drugs believed to be sold at this house are so lethal,
08:40they decide to raid the property immediately
08:43and then wait for the search warrant to be granted.
08:47There is situations where we can enter a property by use of force without warrantry.
08:55On this occasion, it was due to information we had received
08:59that the Frankie group were selling heroin that contained synthetic opiates
09:05and it is a huge public health concern.
09:12This is more of an ad hoc, on-the-job, kind of less planned approach.
09:16Organised crime groups and county lines groups are always looking to adapt their tactics
09:20to avoid being detected by police.
09:23These are the exciting ones.
09:25We have to be willing and open-minded enough to adapt our tactics as well,
09:30within the law, in order to detect crime and to protect people.
09:35This is just the ram we use to put the doors in.
09:40So, the big red key, some people call it.
09:47With it being county lines related, it's likely to be crack cocaine and heroin.
09:53The quantities can vary quite a lot.
09:56On a good day, a few ounces of drugs would be nice.
09:59But there might not be as much as that.
10:01There could be more than that.
10:02We'll just wait and see.
10:05You do get the wee rush before you go in,
10:07especially when you get the responsibility of putting the door in.
10:10She's seen you.
10:20Open that door!
10:24Hit it, one hit, one hit.
10:26Police!
10:27Police!
10:32The dog's fine.
10:33The dog's fine.
10:35You's OK just to give her a quick search.
10:38Can you stand up for me?
10:39OK.
10:40As we were running in, she bent down and she was messing about
10:43with that table for something, I don't know what.
10:46Inside, they find two women who are taken into custody,
10:50leaving Ashley and his colleague to look after the dog,
10:54who seems friendly.
10:56But until they get a search warrant, the police can only look, not touch.
11:01There's signs of drugs misuse in the house.
11:06And one of the females has got a quantity of cash in her pocket.
11:11Questions are raised as to why there's so much cash on her person.
11:14Like there's needles and there's scales and wrappings and all that kind of stuff.
11:20And there's one more telltale sign that the people who live here
11:24could be involved in supplying drugs.
11:27That's a phone that's been ringing constantly since we've been in the address.
11:29I don't know about you, but I'm not as popular as these people anyway, you know.
11:33Which again is another sign of drugs misuse.
11:38You know, they do all their dealings over the phones.
11:41So the fact that it's ringing pretty constantly is a sign for us.
11:46If the tip off is correct, this unassuming house is at the centre of a lucrative trade
11:52in a deadly drug.
11:56This particular person is living in a lovely row of almost kind of retirement bungalows.
12:03Elderly people on either side.
12:05They'll have people knocking on their doors all the time in the night,
12:08mistaking their house for this house.
12:11People banging on windows.
12:12And it'd be terrifying for anyone if like 2, 3 in the morning someone's rattling your door or rattling your window.
12:20But, you know, you've got elderly people, vulnerable people in the street who are trying to live a quiet life.
12:24Back at headquarters, Ashley's colleagues are working on getting sign off on the search warrant.
12:31Until then, he will need to wait.
12:34Car keys in hand, ready to go home for a nice sunny evening.
12:38And here we are, standing in the house for hours on end.
12:41This is me getting a text.
12:43When are you due home? Are you going to be home in time for dinner?
12:45In case Ness, Stephen Todd is backing up officers from the SSPCA who have a want to seize a dangerous dog.
13:07We have brought an independent vet with us to assess all the conditions if she obviously said everything's okay.
13:13Independent indeed.
13:14Not employed by the SSPCA.
13:17Before the SSPCA can inspect the house, the dangerous dog inside needs to be safely removed.
13:23The Shepard Malmoire Cross.
13:26Would it be amenable if you were to bring the dog out rather than us?
13:30You're killing him, Marley. You're just going to kill him.
13:32You're going to sleep with me because it's going to be so traumatic.
13:35I'm not saying that's going to happen.
13:37It's just we can't do an assessment on a dog that's going to try and bite us all the time.
13:40They'll be going into one of our cages. It's a crate that they've got.
13:44And he died with strangers on the nose.
13:45And without me to hold him, you'd have to shoot him.
13:51She was very clearly distraught.
13:53As far as she's concerned, those animals are her life.
13:58The woman reluctantly allows the police to approach her dogs.
14:02We're going to go for the dangerous one on her foot.
14:07As you can tell from the noise in the background, she's got no control over it whatsoever.
14:11The plan is to take any animals living inside. The only ones that are staying are the ones that can live outside,
14:34so it's your pigs and your horses.
14:40Finally, the police can enter the house.
14:47I don't even know how to describe it.
14:48They find a menagerie of tropical animals, including marmoset monkeys and parrots, exposed to the caithness weather.
15:00Obviously, we're in the house now, exposed to the sky.
15:04All the rainwater and wind is going to be coming straight at the house. There's no door.
15:08She's living in this.
15:10For Stephen, the smell of animal faeces is overpowering.
15:16It's quite ammonia-like.
15:19You know, you'd expect some dirt with animals, but certainly, certainly not this.
15:27It's just complete and utter state.
15:29I mean, you've got light fixtures above, like a falling down, you've got a roof that's caving in.
15:34I would say the house, in general, is probably the worst house I've ever been in.
15:40It didn't even have a roof.
15:42There's tiles missing on part of the roof where she was living out of.
15:45One wall is completely missing, completely exposed to the elements.
15:50Stephen is here to protect the animal's welfare.
15:53But as he explores the house further, he realises the welfare of the owner is also at risk.
15:59Well, see, in terms of any, like, additional support, is there anything that we can try and put in place for you to help?
16:07I'm just going to kill myself tonight, because I can't cope with people living without the animal.
16:11Well, we can't leave you when you're making comments like that.
16:14Let's not be able to leave, because I will.
16:16We can't. Nothing left for me.
16:18I'm concerned about you living here. You've not experienced a winter and keenness.
16:21I've experienced a winter. I've lived in a stable for two and a half years with these dogs.
16:24It can't fit. Minus ten. I lived in a stable. Minus ten.
16:27I've been there for two and a half years. So, yeah, I can cope.
16:31Are you quite happy to live with that?
16:33Yes. If I've got my dogs.
16:37We're not in the business of taking things away just because we can.
16:40We have to weigh it up with the pros and cons, and ultimately we've got to look after the welfare of the animals.
16:46Her attitude towards the dogs, she clearly loves them. She clearly cares for them.
16:53She's just physically incapable of looking after them.
16:55Who's my dog?
16:59That's it. You know you're acting in the dog's best interest and whatnot, or the animal's best interest.
17:04But, I say, it's a family.
17:07It's heartbreaking, really our life and soul.
17:12Terrible watching that, isn't it?
17:13This is the crap out of our job.
17:16The animals will be checked by vets before being rehomed or sent to specialist sanctuaries.
17:27Only three horses and two pigs will remain in the woman's care.
17:30The SSPCA were right to get that warrant. The animals needed to come away with them.
17:37But the actions we took were legal and ethical.
17:39The animals can go off to, you know, other homes, habitats, you know, that wasn't the right place for them.
17:47The Cairngorms, one of the most spectacular mountain landscapes in the UK, but in bad weather, one of the most hostile.
18:08It's a place of Scotland, so can I help you?
18:14We manage Kinrara Estate on the outskirts of Abidmore.
18:19Every year, people lose their lives in these hills.
18:24And some of those who have disappeared here still haven't been found.
18:27We've had some contractors on the place today who believe they may have come across the remains of a body.
18:36Today, DS Joe Newson is investigating a terrible discovery in the hills above Abidmore.
18:43We're just going to the Kinrara Estate, which is just to the southwest of Abidmore,
18:48which is where the remains were found, up on the hillside.
18:50We were found by a chap who was up on the estate doing a deer survey and saw what he initially thought was a deer carcass.
18:59When he went over, he realised it was a human remains with clothing on, so he came back down and phoned the police.
19:06The initial assessment is to primarily look at the remains themselves, the kind of position they're in,
19:13anything untoward about what we see.
19:15Abidmore is a fairly small town sitting in the Spey Valley.
19:21You don't have to go very far at all from the town itself until you're in some pretty remote and inaccessible terrain.
19:32It's quite possible for people to go missing in the wilderness up here,
19:37and the chances of them ever being found is pretty minimal.
19:40These human remains are lying on rough terrain just over a mile away from the nearest road.
19:48According to the caller, they are badly decomposed, so identifying the body could be a challenge.
19:57I'm winging it a bit now. I think it's probably up that track.
19:59Joe does have one lead. The discovery of the remains could be linked to the disappearance of a man 16 months ago.
20:10His name is Rodrigo Falcón.
20:13Rodrigo was an Argentinian male who'd been living in Avivor for a year or so.
20:19He'd been on a night out with friends, left the nightclub at closing time, and it was the last time he was seen by his friends.
20:29That night, it was minus ten and snowing, so a major police search was launched to try and find him.
20:40Rodrigo was considered high risk from the outset, particularly given the weather conditions, the sub-zero temperatures.
20:48We do know he was a very popular and outgoing individual, and he enjoyed going to house parties after the pub.
20:59So one theory is that he was potentially trying to visit friends who live on the outskirts of Avivor in that direction.
21:07You do have a massive area to try and search.
21:12It really is looking for a needle in a haystack.
21:14Despite a huge police effort, Rodrigo was never found, perhaps until now.
21:24You know, I'm expecting the outcome of this to be that it is Rodrigo.
21:29I'm not anticipating it being anyone else, but we never assume that our kind of hypothesis is correct.
21:37You know, we'll do everything we can to check, and it's not impossible that it could be someone else.
21:44You have to be open-minded to that.
21:47If these are Rodrigo's remains, the next question Joe needs to answer is how and why did he come to be in such a remote location?
21:57And could anyone else have been involved?
21:59A kind of working assumption would be that the remains have been here since kind of December 2022 when Rodrigo went missing.
22:09Obviously, if there was information that the remains have ended up there a period of time after Rodrigo disappeared, then that would bring a whole new kind of angle to the inquiry, and there's a lot of questions we would need to find answers to.
22:24You can see over there on the other side of the valley in the trees, you can see the police tape.
22:33That's where the remains are.
22:35With Joe today is crime scene examiner Matthew McCloud.
22:40It's his job to thoroughly photograph the area so other forensic specialists can assess it and make a plan for how to remove the body.
22:49Given the terrain, we've got what's called the Police Mountain Rescue Team, and they specialise in recovering living and deceased persons from challenging locations.
22:58Descending the gorge, crossing the burn at the bottom, and climbing up the other side to where the remains have been found proves tough going.
23:26Having come down here now, I can't see how someone could have successfully made their way from where we left the vehicles to here and then further up there.
23:44This would be quite a mission to get through here in the dark. It's hard enough in the daylight.
23:52After a steep climb up the far side of the gorge, the team reach the spot where the body is lying, half hidden in a hollow in the heather.
24:02That is a huge piece of luck that he's been found.
24:07I think in a year's time he'd be covered over by moth.
24:10Even if he was wearing a green jumper, he wouldn't have been seen.
24:15Key to identifying who this is are the clothes that are with the remains.
24:19We know from speaking to his friends and the CCTV footage from the nightclub that when he left he was wearing a red jumper, jeans, and he was wearing his Argentina football shirt.
24:32If that wasn't a red jumper, if that was a green jumper or a brown jumper, you wouldn't even notice it from here.
24:42That is an Argentina shirt, isn't it?
24:46It does look like it.
24:48Are you okay with moving just a little bit of grass?
24:50Yeah.
24:51Yeah.
24:53If this is Rodrigo, it's still far from clear how he came to be here and how he died.
25:01And there are other questions relating to his clothes or the lack of them.
25:06We know Rodrigo was wearing jeans when he went missing. There's no sign of that.
25:13Back my bag up. I'm happy with him.
25:15Okay.
25:16I think.
25:19My confidence remains the same that it is Rodrigo, but with the same caveat that further investigations and tests would be required to confirm that.
25:33It's pure luck or coincidence that the chap who found him yesterday happened to be in that area.
25:39He was on a quad bike, so if he'd been in a slightly different direction, he would have never seen the red jumper.
25:44Never stopped, never got off his quad, so when people are lost in these very remote places, it's just sometimes a lucky coincidence that results in them being found.
25:56There's nothing more Joe and the team can do today. With the scene secured, they'll return tomorrow with forensic specialists and the mountain rescue team.
26:08They still need to confirm that this is Rodrigo and solve the mystery of how he died.
26:14In Inverness, Ashley and his colleague Duncan are waiting at the house of a suspected drug dealer for a search warrant to be granted.
26:32Getting hungry.
26:35For three and a half hours, they have been unable to search for drugs. While they wait at the front door, there seems to be a disturbance at the back.
26:45She's not home or from the police. Are you guys okay though?
26:49Yes.
26:50Ah, you're sound, aye?
26:51This man is known to Duncan and Ashley.
26:55You're a bit of a brand of mine, you know?
26:57Ah.
26:58Nobody got it here, ain't it?
26:59No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
27:01Right, take care of yourself.
27:03See you, Chief.
27:04See you later.
27:05Good job, Chief.
27:06Good job, Chief.
27:08Generally, the information is that instead of using the front door where everyone sees for people to come and go from, the general trend is that people go round the back to get their drugs.
27:18Who knows?
27:19There are signs suggesting the householders are involved in drug dealing, but the police still need concrete evidence, and without the search warrant, they can't look for it.
27:37Hello, Ashley speaking.
27:38Finally, Ashley gets the call he's been waiting for.
27:43Aye, that's fine.
27:45Cheers.
27:46Bye.
27:47The council's got the warrant from the sheriff, so now we can search the address.
27:53Oh.
27:54Just watch your fingers for needles, Ashley.
27:56There's any needles around.
27:59Right.
28:00Do you want to do the honours, or will I?
28:03Small wad of cash.
28:05They're looking for drugs, and any equipment associated with the drugs trade.
28:11Just being methodical and trying to think where people might put things that they don't need to find, you know?
28:20Not long before they find some telltale signs of drug dealing.
28:23Just having a look in here to see if there's any tick lists or any notations that might indicate drug supply.
28:31So we've got a bit of cash there, mobile phones.
28:34Tin foil.
28:35Aye.
28:36It scales there, actually.
28:37Yeah.
28:38But there is a substance on there that I suspect it might be cocaine because it's white.
28:43So we'll test that back at the police station and see if it indicates positive for cocaine, which I suspect it will.
28:49And in notes scattered around the house, there's some more potentially incriminating evidence.
28:55Here, look.
28:56Three b plus one w, two brown plus one.
28:59So we'll see to that.
29:01Users of drugs will refer to drugs by different slangs.
29:05Crack cane will be referred to as w or white, and heroin referred to as brown or b.
29:12So this here would suggest that the occupants may be keeping notes of what she's dishing out or what's being ordered,
29:19and what she needs to run to customers out on the street.
29:22So that's quite useful evidence.
29:24What do you reckon to that?
29:31350 bits. Aye.
29:37350 bits. Bits is a slang word.
29:40It's used by dealers in the Emirates area to describe deals.
29:44So we'll, we'll seize that.
29:46They've found some incriminating material, as well as some unusual items.
29:52What?
29:53Okay.
29:54I mean, I've heard of disguises, but I mean, come on.
29:56Surely no.
30:02Okay.
30:03That's us then.
30:04Well, we've started our shift at 7 a.m. this morning.
30:14It's now 25 to 11 p.m.
30:17And we've just cleared the address.
30:20Ashley and Duncan have been on the go for 15 hours.
30:24Their search has revealed drugs paraphernalia, but no drugs.
30:30They're heading back to the police station.
30:33We will need to count the cash that we've seized.
30:35It's still a good result.
30:36Yeah.
30:37It's still a good result.
30:38But one of the women who was arrested earlier that day was found to be in possession of synthetic heroin, the drug wreaking havoc on the streets of Inverness.
30:50We definitely did make the right decision to go into the house.
30:54We seized a quantity of controlled drugs, which were the drugs that were killing people.
30:58And we've taken them off the streets.
31:00We would never be able to confirm it, but potentially save lives doing it.
31:04D.S. Joe Newsom is investigating missing person Rodrigo Falcón, who vanished 16 months ago.
31:32A body has been found on a hill with clothing that seems to match Rodrigo's.
31:37Now, Joe needs to piece together his final movements and try to explain how and why he ended up in such a remote spot.
31:47So this is Avimor.
31:49The vault nightclub is around about here.
31:54So CCTV from the nightclub and from an Indian takeaway shows Rodrigo walking south through the town towards the kind of end of Avimor.
32:05We don't know where Rodrigo was heading that morning.
32:09It was in the middle of winter, so it was a very cold night.
32:11It was lots of snow, sub-zero temperatures.
32:15And in the early hours of the morning, he walks south out of the town of Avimor.
32:21And that's the last sighting of him on CCTV.
32:24The next sighting is here, which is the side of the A9.
32:29A gritted driver saw a male, slight build, dark bushy hair and wearing a red jumper or coat,
32:37which we believe was Rodrigo walking through the trees alongside the road.
32:43Police officers attended and found footsteps in the snow.
32:47They followed the footprints which carried alongside the road down as far as here in the footsteps that was lost at that point.
32:55Which is about two kilometres or less as the crow flies from the site where these remains have been found.
33:02That night there was quite thick snow on the ground.
33:06Rodrigo had a drink that night, we know that.
33:08Perhaps the cumulative effects of cold and alcohol and perhaps being a bit disorientated on a dark night.
33:16He's simply, you know, lost his way and then has become even more disorientated
33:21and ended up on the hillside where he was ultimately found.
33:26So far, all the evidence points to this being Rodrigo's body on the hill
33:31and his death being a tragic accident.
33:34But Joe and his colleagues can take nothing for granted.
33:37They need to establish exactly how Rodrigo died in order to definitively rule out foul play.
33:44I think anyone can empathise with Rodrigo's family and friends
33:49and hopefully we can provide some closure to his friends and family
33:54that will kind of help them with that grieving process.
33:58The next day, the operation enters its most critical phase.
34:05First, the body will be examined where it lies by forensic scientists.
34:11Then, it will be carefully retrieved by the Police Scotland Mountain Rescue Team, led by Matt Smith.
34:30For Matt, it's a sad end to a story he's been involved with since the start.
34:39We played quite a significant part in the search effort at the time.
34:44When somebody's found, you immediately start thinking in your own head,
34:48did we miss something? Should we have been somewhere?
34:52But people, when they're missing, they tend to follow tracks or trails,
34:56or they tend to have a really good reason to find themselves somewhere.
34:59This location is just a place that we probably wouldn't have considered.
35:09Joe is also on scene again today to oversee the specialist teams.
35:15The whole purpose of the investigation is to try and piece together, as far as we can,
35:20what happened after Rodrigo left Avimor.
35:24How has he got here, from there, and what routes could he have taken?
35:30Are you ready? Yes.
35:32Assembled, the teams can make their way to the spot where the body lies.
35:37The key experts in a case like this are forensic anthropologists.
35:42By examining bodies where they are found,
35:45they can often work out the likely cause of death.
35:48From what the anthropologists have found so far,
35:50it's just an initial assessment that it appears that the remains are intact.
35:55OK. And...
35:56Including the footwear?
35:57No. He's not got his socks on, he's not got his shoes on,
36:00and he's not got his jeans on. OK.
36:02The fact that the limbs that were in those are still there,
36:05but they're not, means that they've been taken off by him.
36:10In cases of hypothermia, it's common for people to become confused
36:16and start removing their clothes in the belief they are too hot.
36:20When people are in a hypothermic condition, they're not...
36:23What they think is happening is not...
36:25It does not reflect the reality.
36:27So that clothing could be a kilometre away.
36:29Yeah, it could be, yeah.
36:31..and in any direction.
36:34They could have been right next to him, and then snowmelt over to Winters
36:38has taken it down to the river.
36:40And where's it gone from there?
36:42After looking at the position of the body,
36:45the forensic anthropologists are reaching some conclusions
36:49about the likely cause of death.
36:51What you tend to find is that they'll pull their hand in
36:54and they'll go to back.
36:56Right.
36:57But face down.
36:58So if they were sleeping fetal position, you'd be on the side.
37:00Yeah, OK.
37:01With your knees tucked up.
37:02Yeah.
37:03But if his knees had been underneath him...
37:04Right, yeah.
37:05..and his hand had been up, that's more a digging.
37:08OK, right.
37:09The anthropologists can look at the position of the bones
37:13and from that make an assessment of the body position
37:16of the person when they came to rest.
37:19If someone's suffering with hypothermia,
37:21the body position of that is quite different
37:23to the position of someone lying down to go to sleep.
37:27This behaviour where people with hypothermia
37:30tuck themselves into the ground
37:32is called hypothermic or terminal burrowing.
37:35We can't say with absolute certainty,
37:37but what we're seeing is consistent with hypothermic burrowing,
37:41but obviously we'll look to confirm some of these things
37:44with all the scientific and forensic tests
37:46that are done at the laboratory.
37:48It's hard to say what the last few minutes
37:53or moments of Rodrigo's life would have been like for him.
37:57We're fairly sure he would have been disorientated
38:01for various reasons,
38:04but primarily probably through hypothermia.
38:07I'm no expert, but my understanding is that
38:10compared to some other ways people die,
38:14someone just kind of slips away.
38:16So I like to think there's maybe some comfort
38:21to be taken from the thought that
38:24probably his final moments may have been quite peaceful.
38:28It's finally time to lift the body carefully from where it lies
38:37and carry it off the hillside.
38:41I think you're never going to rest
38:43when your loved one's missing in the mountains.
38:45But ultimately, it's actually a rather positive day
38:52to be able to know that at the end of that day
38:55they've been found and the family can start that process of grieving
38:59is so important.
39:00It's invariably a tragedy when a body is found,
39:16but we do what we can to try and get answers
39:19for family and friends as to what's happened
39:23and hope that that helps them kind of work through their grief.
39:28In Inverness, it's a hot and sunny bank holiday.
39:53Are you all right?
39:54PC Siobhan Cooper is on patrol in the city centre.
39:59Are you having a good day?
40:00I'm having a good day. Are you having a good day?
40:02That's good.
40:03That's good.
40:04Siobhan's family is steeped in Highland policing.
40:07My dad joined the police when I was four years old,
40:10so it's something I've always kind of been a part of.
40:14CCTV police one.
40:16I had an uncle who was in traffic in Inverness
40:20and then my auntie as well was in the police.
40:22It's always been in the family.
40:24And then when we grew up,
40:25my brother then became interested in it as well as me.
40:28He joined up literally the year before I joined.
40:31Yeah, we're not far away.
40:33I cover the city centre of Inverness.
40:36It's a small team.
40:37We're on foot patrol.
40:38We don't have vehicles.
40:39Just to kind of show visibility,
40:41speak with shop owners, security,
40:44and just provide that sort of extra bit of policing in the centre.
40:50Hurry!
40:51Stop it!
40:53All of yous need to go.
40:55You're going as well.
40:56If not, you're going to get lifted.
40:58I don't care.
40:59The warm weather has brought dozens of teenagers onto the streets
41:03and some are out to cause trouble.
41:06Kids are off school.
41:08There doesn't seem to be much for them to do.
41:10They get bored, they come to the city centre
41:12and they cause a lot of issues.
41:14Their attitudes towards police can be pretty shocking sometimes.
41:18It's really difficult dealing with kids.
41:21The threshold for arresting them,
41:23taking them into custody is so high,
41:25but they know that too.
41:27So they will run away from us, commit crime,
41:30expecting that there's no repercussions anymore.
41:32And because they know that,
41:33I just think it's like a vicious cycle.
41:35It's just getting worse and worse.
41:38CCTV, please, Juan.
41:40Siobhan and her colleague Sam
41:42are on the hunt for suspected thieves.
41:45Yeah, we're not far away.
41:49Some teenage boys were spotted stealing alcohol
41:52from a supermarket.
41:57CCTV cameras have tracked two of them down to this alleyway.
42:01I'm not chasing you.
42:03You're not getting arrested, OK?
42:06OK, come speak to me then.
42:08Come speak to me.
42:10Well, show us then.
42:11One boy resists Siobhan's attempts to search him.
42:14I'm not f***ing a picture of my arm.
42:17Stop it!
42:19What are you saying?
42:20Listen, I've got nothing on me. Search me.
42:22Search me, I've got nothing on me.
42:26I look at every person as an unknown risk,
42:28and anybody on that street could harm me.
42:30Settle down.
42:31I'm settled.
42:32Do you want the jail?
42:33No.
42:34Well, then I suggest you pipe down right now.
42:36Search me.
42:37Search me.
42:39You're walking around the streets,
42:40you don't know who you're going to be stopping.
42:42So, yeah, you do feel vulnerable.
42:45Can you keep all of them and take a seat?
42:47While the officers were busy restraining one of the suspects,
42:51the other boy got away.
42:53Leaving the angry teenager with her colleague,
42:55Siobhan's got no choice but to try and pursue him by herself.
42:59Yeah, where's the male gone?
43:01I passed off to another male,
43:02and they're both running down Georgian Street.
43:08Okay.
43:09You will encounter, at some point, a child being cheeky to you and abusive.
43:13They will shout at us, they will assault us, everything.
43:18You do go home sometimes battered and bruised.
43:20Attempting to make an arrest always has the potential to lead to violence.
43:27Something Siobhan experienced when she was assaulted on the job six years ago.
43:35I went into work that day and then I went away from work in the back of an ambulance to hospital.
43:40I was dealing with an individual I'd already dealt with the day before.
43:51And I've then gone to arrest him for threatening or abusive behaviour,
43:54and on doing so, he's just gone from zero to 100.
44:00He has tried to punch me, and then he's got me in a chokehold.
44:05I didn't know if he was going to kill me.
44:16His hands were, like, in my eye.
44:18He was strangling me, and he just wouldn't get off me.
44:21His strength was ridiculous.
44:22There was three grown men trying to get him off me, and they couldn't.
44:26And then basically pulled a big clump of hair up my head.
44:29All I remember is just going to hospital, and I couldn't see.
44:32I thought he'd taken my eye out at that point.
44:35So it was just a fear of, like, being blind.
44:41It took Siobhan months to recover from her injuries,
44:44both physical and psychological.
44:49So I had to work through a lot of stuff, like, mentally after that.
44:54But I think that was probably the point in my career
44:56where I did seriously consider whether it was worth it or not.
45:00It was, like, kind of, do I go back, do I not?
45:04Is it worth it?
45:07You haven't seen two young lads run in here, have you?
45:10No?
45:15Like, yeah, OK, he battered me.
45:17He did seriously injure me.
45:19My eyesight was wrecked because of it.
45:22And I could sit there for the rest of my life
45:24and be angry at him and annoyed.
45:27But then I just kind of turned it on its side,
45:30and I was like, you know what?
45:31It could be worse.
45:32I could be blind.
45:33You know, he could kill me.
45:34He didn't.
45:35I'm still here.
45:37I love my job.
45:38I'm not going to let him stop me from liking my job.
45:40And I think I just got that fight back.
45:46Hmm.
45:59Siobhan moves on to help a colleague
46:01who has now stopped a thud suspect.
46:04Can you just show me?
46:06Someone's been passed drink.
46:08We're just trying to work out who it is.
46:10But when they search him for the stolen alcohol,
46:12they come up empty-handed.
46:14The alcohol has been passed on
46:16before we've managed to get a hold of it.
46:1880 miles to the south-west,
46:31Siobhan's brother, Stephen,
46:33is on patrol in Glencore.
46:38It's a very different environment from Inverness.
46:41Unlike his sister,
46:43Stephen's chosen to stay in the glens
46:45where they both grew up.
46:47I mean, as a kid,
46:50you couldn't hope for a better place to grow up,
46:51I don't think,
46:52because you've just got freedom to do
46:53what you want to when you want to.
46:54It might be a bit boring at times
46:55when it's wet and the weather's horrible,
46:57but when the weather's nice,
46:58you've got a big playground in nature, haven't you?
47:03I've lived in this area from a very young age,
47:05like seven years old, I think.
47:08I don't see myself leaving here.
47:10I'm still happy.
47:11I'm still enthusiastic.
47:12I still enjoy the job,
47:13so I don't really see any need to go anywhere else.
47:17In summer, Glencore attracts tourists
47:20from all over the world.
47:22Its narrow roads fill up with traffic.
47:24Today, it's sunny and warm,
47:27and the roads are busier than ever.
47:30These roads were designed for cattle carts
47:32years and years and years ago,
47:34before carts were even a thing.
47:35They've obviously been modernised and improved since then,
47:37but there's only so much you can do with the width of them.
47:42Stephen's on his way to help some stranded tourists.
47:47I spotted what looked like possibly a higher car in a ditch.
47:50It just looked like it had gone too far over
47:52and just fallen in a little bit.
47:54A lot of people have never experienced a single-track road
47:57before they've come to Scotland,
47:58so they don't know what they're doing with it.
48:00I underestimate the ditches at the side and drive into them.
48:05I think this is where this car is in the ditch.
48:09Stephen's been beaten to the scene by a group of good Samaritans.
48:13Do you think it's beached or is it all right?
48:15Beached, yeah.
48:16Is it?
48:17I think so, yeah.
48:23It's on the axles.
48:24There's no way of doing that without a winch, I don't think.
48:25No, no.
48:26No.
48:27Have you got a rug?
48:28I do, but I wouldn't do it without a winch.
48:30The stricken drivers are a young couple from New York
48:34enjoying a Scottish holiday with their baby.
48:37The dad says he was forced into the ditch by a passing lorry.
48:40A lorry came, did not even wait there, and made us push inside.
48:45Right, OK.
48:48See, I'm worried as well, if I pull you with this,
48:50it might go in further and make your situation worse.
48:52Right, I'll try and get my car out of the way a little bit
48:54so we can get the road moving.
48:59Stephen's first priority is to keep the traffic flowing.
49:06I'm trying to think how this is going to work.
49:09Traffic management-wise.
49:11When the recovery gets here, the road will be shut,
49:13so our biggest danger is going to be the sail back into the main road.
49:17The A82 through Glencoe is one of the main arteries to the north of Scotland
49:22and attracts fast-moving traffic.
49:25If a queue of cars backs up onto the main road,
49:28Stephen's worried it could cause a serious accident.
49:31In an ideal world, there'll be two of us, one down there somewhere at a passing place
49:35and me up here at this passing place.
49:38But, unfortunately, the world's not ideal and it's just me,
49:41so I'm just going to have to try and manage it as best I can.
49:44It's going to get interesting when we try and open the road again
49:47and everything's got to try and pass on the single track.
49:51Control 3 to whiskey.
49:53It's time to radio for a car removal team.
49:56I'm looking to arrange recovery for a vehicle causing obstruction,
49:59if possible, please.
50:01Yeah, that's not a problem at all.
50:02Stand by.
50:05So I've asked for the recovery to come,
50:07so they make that phone call now.
50:09It'll be soon. They're just close by and they'll drag you out.
50:12I appreciate it.
50:13Nah, no problem at all.
50:14With regards, the truck kind of forcing you off.
50:16Did you get the registration of the truck or anything?
50:18Nah.
50:19Nah.
50:20I'm afraid there's not very much we can do about that
50:22and it's a hazard of these roads, unfortunately,
50:24so I'm very sorry.
50:26We are used to driving on the right-hand side,
50:29so now driving on the left was the first challenge
50:31and the single lane drives are fun.
50:35You need to be always on the lookout.
50:39Won't be long now, they're just leaving the yard,
50:41which is 10, 15 minutes tops.
50:44How old is she?
50:45Ten months tomorrow.
50:46Ten months tomorrow.
50:47All right.
50:49I think the bit I most enjoy about being a police officer
50:51is helping people.
50:53Dad joined the police when I was very young
50:55and I saw the job he did.
50:58So when I finished school
50:59and I was presented with the option of going to university
51:02or joining the police,
51:03I just decided that the police was the better option
51:06and haven't looked back since.
51:13That's the recovery guys on scene now.
51:15They're just reversing to the car to try and pull it out.
51:19Is that all right there, Colin?
51:23It's not in too far, but I didn't want to try and drag it out myself.
51:26It would cause more damage than you'd solve.
51:29The local car recovery team, a father and son duo,
51:33Colin and Mark.
51:34How are you, Mark?
51:35We'll put the rope out.
51:40We'll put a snatch to this corner here
51:42so it can only come towards you that way.
51:46It can't run along the ditch, you know?
51:48He's got 50 years experience.
51:50I've only got 14.
51:51He should see us when we argue.
51:54It is a very close-knit community.
51:58And it's great to have that pro-police support.
52:02It's probably not for cities.
52:03It's totally alien, I would imagine.
52:05But it's brilliant.
52:06OK, Dad.
52:08At last, the car is freed.
52:16As easy as that.
52:18If only all the recoveries were that easy,
52:20it would be an easy job.
52:22You come with me and we'll go down to the garage.
52:24You jump in the lorry.
52:26Thank you so much.
52:27No problem at all.
52:28Thanks, guys.
52:33Control, 3-2 whisky.
52:34Yeah, that's me clear of that vehicle off the road.
52:38It's been recovered and the road reopened.
52:42It feels quite good getting them out of the ditch and stuff.
52:44I know they're going to get a bill for their recovery
52:46and things like that now,
52:47but it's better than a ruined holiday,
52:49so it's good that they can carry on with their journey.
53:00In Inverness, Stephen's sister, Siobhan,
53:03has managed to find some of the alcohol
53:06that was stolen from a shop,
53:08along with another of the suspected thieves.
53:11Hello?
53:12Hi, it's the police.
53:13Sorry, your son?
53:15No.
53:22He's under 16,
53:24so rather than arrest him,
53:25Siobhan's attempting a different strategy
53:28and calling his mum.
53:30Sorry, my radio was going there.
53:31He's been caught at the co-op stealing alcohol.
53:34We've not managed to recover them all
53:35because they've tried to hide them from us.
53:38So...
53:40Yeah.
53:41It's kind of gone too far now.
53:43I can tell a lot by how their parents are when I phone them
53:46and tell them they've just stolen this, that and the other
53:49from this shop.
53:50And then if they don't react,
53:52then I worry.
53:54Because I think, well,
53:55like, if that was my mum or dad getting a phone call
53:57when I was that age,
53:58like, I'd be terrified.
54:00On this occasion,
54:02Siobhan's reassured that the boy's mother
54:05is taking the matter seriously.
54:10But it's not long before the peace is shattered again.
54:18Is that the same group of males we've been dealing with?
54:21Yes, indeed.
54:22Yeah, so the males are now having a fight on Falcon Square.
54:27It's probably alcohol-fuelled again.
54:29The alcohol they've probably stolen, so...
54:31It's more than just a police fight.
54:33They've just punched them in the face.
54:39Who's that idiot?
54:41Enough!
54:43Has he assaulted you?
54:44Yeah, he slapped me on my phone.
54:46CCTV, police one, have you got eyes on?
54:48Yeah, I got eyes on.
54:50He's coming up Crown Road.
54:53Yeah, what's our location now?
54:55827-535.
54:56He's coming up Crown Road
54:58towards the top of the hill by the stretch.
55:04Move!
55:07They eventually manage to catch the boy.
55:10It's another of the alcohol thieves
55:12who they already stopped and searched earlier in the day.
55:15What is your problem?
55:16There's no money.
55:18Doesn't mean you can start punching folk.
55:20I'm not getting lifted for this.
55:21I'm not doing anything.
55:23If it was an adult, we'd be arresting them
55:25for threatening abusive behaviour.
55:26I understand, like, they are a child
55:28and that's, like, the last place they should really be.
55:31Right, who's your...who's at home?
55:33I'm not getting lifted.
55:34Give us your details.
55:35I'm not giving you anything unless he goes.
55:37You're not in charge here.
55:39Right, enough.
55:40Eh?
55:41Enough.
55:42What are you going to do?
55:43Enough.
55:44Cut the attitude.
55:45Running out of options,
55:46Siobhan calls a custody sergeant for advice.
55:50He's only 15, so, you know, the protocol is we shouldn't really be arresting him, but he's being very abusive to us.
55:56Well, I'm not. Look at that.
55:57And he's assaulted somebody else in Falcon Square and he's stolen alcohol, so...
56:01Come on, you've got fours right in the...
56:03Right.
56:04Eh?
56:05Cut the attitude.
56:06Honestly.
56:07Honestly?
56:08You put your bottle shot in?
56:10Because he's now threatening to break our faces.
56:13Yeah.
56:14Yeah, OK.
56:15Thanks, cheers.
56:16Right, you're under arrest for threatening abusive behaviour, OK?
56:19Do you understand that?
56:20Yeah.
56:21I'm so sorry.
56:22Nah.
56:23Too late, mate.
56:24Too late.
56:25Too late.
56:26I don't care.
56:27I should have thought about that.
56:28I'm sorry, mate.
56:29I don't know what you do.
56:30I have got to the point where I have had to arrest them and take them into custody, where they do get a few hours in a cell.
56:36And I've noticed even that on its own has sort of had an effect in a good way and made them realise that, you know, there is repercussions to their actions.
56:43But, as I say, it's...it doesn't happen often.
56:46Too late, mate. Too late.
56:48You can't get away with talking to us like that. You can't get away with treating people like that.
56:52I'm not even trying to be violent. I'm just sorry. If I was young, I shouldn't be young having sex.
56:56You've sobered up now though, haven't you?
57:02I'm getting this abuse sometimes. You're being assaulted. It's seeing the end result.
57:07And if you're getting one person off the street and making that street a bit safer for everyone else, then it's like you've done your job.
57:15We've all been drinking beer, vodka, wine.
57:18Bok fast.
57:19Suck fast.
57:21Alright, let's go down to cell number 19.
57:23Police!
57:34Police!
57:36Police!
57:39Police!
57:42Go, go, go, go!
57:47Next time, police close in on a man
58:12who has evaded them for almost a year.
58:15Human remains are found in one of the most remote parts of the Highlands.
58:22It's bringing up more questions than answers.
58:25And police deal with a serious collision on one of Scotland's deadliest roads.
58:32There are quite a few people in that vehicle, so I hope they'll be OK.
59:04You
Be the first to comment
Add your comment