Missing on Dartmoor Read online

  A search leader was quickly appointed from the rescuers and three other deputies were chosen who would work closely with the leader and the police to devise the best search plan in the prevailing circumstances surrounding the missing individual. They knew that when the person appears to have simply vanished, speed of action was paramount, particularly as it was now two hours after dusk. However, rather than the searchers rushing off in all directions, these highly skilled and practised people always worked to a plan. This gave a much better chance of a successful outcome and Mary being found if she had become lost or was lying injured. In conjunction with the police, it had been decided that the search area would be approximately a mile radius, using the car park as its centre point; communication would be by walkie-talkies and mobile phones.

  The size of the area was derived using a simple calculation. Tom Bowers had told the police that Mary had planned to start her walk around 3 o’clock. He was fairly sure she would have headed north towards the highest point on Haytor, rather than south towards Rippon Tor, but he couldn’t be absolutely certain. Walking pace up a steep incline would be no more than four miles an hour, even for a fit, young woman. So, assuming she planned to walk up the tor and possibly beyond, whilst leaving herself enough time to return before dusk, she would have walked for no more than an hour. Not knowing her chosen path meant the area to be searched covered several square miles; of course, the searchers knew that if she had got lost, she could have gone beyond the estimated search zone. So the police leader and the rescue team leader agreed an area that took this into account. With such a wide expanse to cover, without the aid of the helicopter, this would have been an impossible task. So, while the aerial search covered the extremities of the zone, the searchers on foot concentrated on the vicinity around Haytor.

  Searching is never an easy task and in darkness it was doubly difficult, particularly with uneven terrain underfoot. The one thing in their favour was the sparseness of the vegetation. The thermal imaging camera on the helicopter picked out ponies, sheep, beef cattle and the odd fox, but sadly, did not detect any human body heat.

  Access had been gained to Mary’s car by unconventional means and Max, the police Labrador Retriever, set about picking up her scent by sniffing all over the inside of her little Punto. After a few minutes, and with encouragement from its handler, the dog made off in the direction of Haytor. It crossed the car park and then the road. The ground began to rise more steeply as both man and dog headed toward the giant rock, followed by a procession of other searchers. From straining at its leash, the dog suddenly stopped moving forward and began to move in a circular manner; the trail had gone cold. It was as if the young woman had been plucked from the surface of the moor.

  *

  Max had caused a rethink for the search leaders and the helicopter and ground searchers were directed to concentrate around and to the north of Haytor. It was midnight before the search teams re-assembled in the previously deserted car park, which in the late afternoon had been home only to the little Fiat. It was now occupied by over a dozen vehicles, emblazoned either with the blue and yellow chequered livery of the police cars or the red and white squares of the Dartmoor Search and Rescue Teams’ rugged transport. At its centre was a police Command and Control vehicle that was acting as the communication hub for all the various searchers.

  *

  Detective Inspector Richard King (he was never called Dick) was alerted to the missing person report earlier that evening by his superintendent and that he had been assigned to the case. He knew that a senior officer would not normally be brought into an incident of this nature at such an early stage, but King preferred to be involved from the outset of any investigation, so he could ensure that evidence was not disturbed and any immediate crucial decisions could be made. If Mary Cranson was found safe, all well and good, and he’d go back to his other work. If she wasn’t, he was happy to be controlling things from the beginning.

  The inspector was known throughout the Force as a strong, commanding figure, dedicated and fiercely loyal to his detectives. His career had been marked with notable arrests that had led to successful prosecutions. Although highly competent, he wasn’t interested in promotion as he knew he had reached his career grade: he was quite content with his rank and role. This was due in part to his philosophy that in work, people can, possibly driven by misplaced ambition, rise to the level of their own incompetence. By remaining as an inspector, he felt in control. What’s more, he liked what he did and didn’t want to become a more senior officer and be further away from hands-on police work.

  Having lost his wife to a brain tumour two years previously, he immersed himself in his work, finding solace in his many successes, and, perhaps more strangely, in his new habit of sucking a sherbet lemon while pondering his next move in any investigation. The sweets were his way of coping with his nicotine addiction: he had reluctantly quit the dreaded weed in 2007, following the introduction of the law that banned smoking in enclosed spaces.

  In his job DI King was only influenced by facts and he had supreme confidence in his own judgement of people and events: he was seldom proved wrong. His current case involved multiple thefts from farms across Devon. These included Land Rovers, All Terrain Vehicles (commonly called quad bikes) and farm machinery. The thefts had been happening for several months and the loss of farming implements, including a tractor, was making life for the victim farmers tougher than it needed to be.

  Determined as he was to apprehend the perpetrators, and important as these cases were, they would have to wait. His priority now was to deal with the more pressing matter of the missing woman. He asked his Detective Constable, Sam Dyson, to continue the investigation of the thefts and to keep him appraised of any new developments.

  Having been given this new task, he immediately contacted his Detective Sergeant, Lucy Harris, and they left Plymouth central police station at 8.10 p.m., on the day of the disappearance, en route to Haytor. When they arrived they were briefed by the two leading search officers and were told Mary was still missing. They carried out a casual inspection of her abandoned Punto, now illuminated by a police halogen lamp on a tripod. King paused for a minute and took out a sherbet lemon: his sergeant waited patiently for him to speak.

  “There are a number of things that could have happened here, sergeant, and a number of possible outcomes. Firstly, the young woman could have decided to have a longer walk than originally planned. She could shortly walk through the dark and apologise profusely when she realised the fuss she had caused, and the evident search that had been triggered by her late arrival. She could explain that she had become disorientated before eventually finding her way back to the car park with the aid of the torch on her mobile. Let’s call that the ideal outcome.” His sergeant nodded her understanding and approval.

  King continued.

  “Or it could be that she simply lost her way in the gathering gloom and, as can happen when mildly panicked, unwittingly took a path that led her away from her intended destination. She may then have got lucky and found her path crossing a road or leading to an isolated farm where she could get help.”

  Again, his sergeant nodded, but this time not in approval, just understanding. After a short pause as he rolled the fizzy sweet around his mouth, he offered his third observation. “Or she could have fallen and injured herself, and if that’s the case, I would be optimistic that she would be found, either by the helicopter or the search and rescue operation on the ground.”

  After a further pause he concluded with his last and final scenario.

  “However, I fear that because of the lack of contact with her boyfriend, which may or may not be attributed to a poor signal from her mobile, we have to face the possibility that she has been abducted.”

  TWO

  Shortly after first light on the Thursday a search was still being made by the police helicopter of an area now within a ten-mile radius of Haytor. It had r
eturned to its base after unsuccessful nocturnal searching as it had to refuel, and the crew had to rest. It was decided that a daylight search over a wider area might prove more fruitful.

  Up to that point the only evidence that Mary had visited the site was her abandoned car. The little yellow Fiat had been the subject of a cursory inspection in the car park the night before and was now being loaded onto a lorry and taken to the central police station. There it would undergo a more detailed forensic examination. This was routine procedure and the police weren’t hopeful of anything suspicious being found: they suspected that any clues to her disappearance lay elsewhere.

  Many of Mary’s friends had been in the lower car park at Haytor at first light that misty Thursday morning and were now fanning out in random directions in what was a well-meaning, but ultimately, futile attempt to find her.

  DI King and his sergeant, Lucy Harris, had stayed in the same car park until gone midnight the previous day before heading home. They knew that unless Mary was found alive, they had a very busy day ahead of them and they would benefit from sleep, albeit short in duration. Of course, if Mary’s body was found in anything other than circumstances that were not suspicious, then their day was likely to be even busier.

  They travelled to the site together the following morning in their unmarked car and arrived soon after dawn. When they turned into the car park, two marked police cars, the Command and Control unit and one of the Dartmoor Search and Rescue vehicles were evident, together with the cars of the novice searchers. They noted that Mary’s car had already been removed. The inspector noticed that there were other people milling around, and he suspected them either to be those wanting to help in the search for Mary, or they were, as he rather disparagingly called them, rubberneckers.

  A reporter from the local TV programme, Spotlight, arrived shortly after the detectives and began filming at the scene. A camera crew initially concentrated on taking footage of Haytor as it was gradually emerging from the early morning mist. Following the disappearance of the woman, there seemed to be a sense of urgency about recording this image as it would capture the mood for the lunchtime broadcast of the story. A member of the TV team then did a piece to camera for that bulletin. As the senior detective on site and leader of the investigation, King was asked for an interview, and he readily agreed. He had no problem with the request, but this wasn’t from any latent desire to be a celebrity, rather he saw his role as more than just the crime scene controller, if, indeed, a crime had been committed. He knew that he had a wider responsibility to the public and to Mary’s many friends and family. What followed was not so much an interview, more a statement as he knew other journalists would be listening.

  “Yesterday afternoon a young woman, Mary Cranson, had planned to walk in the vicinity of Haytor. She was reported missing by her boyfriend, who she had arranged to meet after her walk, just after 5.30 pm. Her car was later found in this car park, but, unfortunately, there was no sign of her. An extensive search of the area was carried out by the police, including the Force’s helicopter, and this search was very ably supported by the Dartmoor Search and Rescue Teams from Plymouth and Ashburton. Unfortunately, she has not been found.

  “We understand she would have been here, in this car park, at approximately 3.30 yesterday afternoon, the first of February. If anyone has any information about the whereabouts of Mary Cranson they should ring 101 immediately. Thank you.”

  The interviewer didn’t ask any questions, partly because she knew he had said all there was to be said, and also because she sensed that the inspector wouldn’t be answering any follow-up questions at this stage.

  The two detectives spoke with the search leaders to confirm how the search was progressing. The first people they wanted to speak with were Mary’s parents and her sister, principally to glean any information that might give a clue to her disappearance. King was also mindful that they would be in a distressed state and wanted to reassure them that everything was being done to try and find her. The other person they needed to interview formally was Tom Bowers, Mary’s boyfriend, as he could confirm their arrangements for the previous afternoon. He would also be able to provide the names of her other close friends, who might be able to shed some light on what had happened to her, or at least comment on her demeanour the last time they saw her.

  From the time he was first alerted to her plight, King had suspected the reason she went missing would eventually be attributed to foul play. His mantra was always to hope for the best, but to prepare for the worst.

  He received an update from the Command and Control unit, which merely provided him with a report on the progress of the search, rather than more positive news. In conjunction with the leaders, it was decided that it would be scaled down for the day and cease soon after 5 p.m., when the light would start to fade. King thought to himself of the idiom: ‘covering the same old ground.’

  Well-intentioned as the searchers were, he saw little point in them looking in the places that had already been thoroughly searched.

  *

  The inspector asked his sergeant to contact Mary’s parents, Alice Cranson and Tom Bowers and arrange to interview them as soon as possible. DS Harris arranged to meet with Mr and Mrs Cranson in half an hour at their hotel in Bovey Tracey. She contacted Tom Bowers on his mobile as she had the number from the record of his call to the emergency services the previous evening. He said he was returning home with Mary’s sister, Alice, after their fruitless search for his girlfriend since first light. The sergeant confirmed that the interview with both of them would be at his home close to Bovey Tracey later that morning.

  *

  As they approached The Bedford Country House Hotel, they saw the car park was virtually empty. A large handwritten note was attached to the main entrance door, which read ‘APOLOGIES. THE HOTEL IS CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE’. The interview with the parents confirmed Mary’s leaving time the previous afternoon, but nothing further. King gave them an update on the search for their daughter and promised to keep them informed of any developments. Although he was an experienced senior detective, he couldn’t help but be moved by their anguish.

  *

  When King and Harris arrived at Tom Bowers house they found several people lining the short path to the front door. The man at the back of what had developed into a disorganised line turned to King as he approached the front gate.

  “You’ll have to join the queue mate, we’re waiting to interview the boyfriend of the missing woman, but he doesn’t want to talk to us. There’s a rumour going around that the police are treating him as a suspect.”

  “Is that so? In which case you’d better let us jump the queue. I’m Inspector King and this is Detective Sergeant Harris.”

  This announcement got the attention of the other journalists and they stood back to allow the detectives passage. King stood on the doorstep and turned to address them:

  “There are two points I’d like to make to you all; firstly, the boyfriend of the missing woman is not a suspect. We are here to gather information that may help us find Mary Cranson. The second point I’d like to make is that, technically, you are trespassing, so I suggest you quietly leave the premises and, if you must hang around, wait on the pavement. We’ll probably be at least an hour and it’s starting to rain. I don’t anticipate any new developments from our chat with Mr Bowers, but if there are, I will make a further statement to the press back in the car park at Haytor.”

  With that the newshounds trudged down the path muttering among themselves. As they left, the door opened and Tom Bowers stood on the threshold: he was remarkably calm, considering the unknown plight of his girlfriend. DI King knew that some people were good at hiding their emotions and his manner did not particularly raise any suspicions.

  “You must be Inspector King? We’ve been expecting you. Thanks for what you did with those journalists; they were here when we got back and started firing questions
at us. It was all very distressing, particularly for Mary’s sister, Alice.”

  “They’ve got their job to do and investigative journalism has a role to play, but harassing you and Miss Cranson was out of order.”

  They were invited into the house and introduced to Alice Cranson. Her demeanour was the antithesis of Tom’s. She was red-eyed and still tearful, clutching a soggy, white handkerchief. All four sat around the black marble breakfast bar in the kitchen. DI King began the interview with his sergeant taking notes.

  “How long have you and Mary been a couple?”

  “We met at uni in Plymouth about a year ago and fell in love.”

  King gently probed, “Can you think of any reason at all why Mary didn’t show up to meet you at The Rock Inn yesterday as arranged?”

  “I’ve racked my brain trying to think why she didn’t meet me. I really can’t find a plausible answer anymore, unless she is lying injured somewhere out on the moor.”

  This brought more tears to an increasingly distressed sister.

  “Tell me again about your arrangements to meet.”

  “We had arranged to meet in the pub at 5.30 last evening, as we have done on many occasions in the past. It’s a nice place and very convenient if she’s gone walking on the moor and I’m on my way home from work.”

  “Is it always just you two or does anyone else join you? Friends perhaps?”

  “Usually just the two of us, but occasionally Alice and her boyfriend come along. Last evening we were going to have a bite to eat before she was due back at the hotel where she works.”

  Alice looked up from her sorrowful contemplation and nodded to confirm what Tom had said.

  “Did anyone else know you were meeting at the pub?”