Six officers face misconduct hearing over triple death crash

Shane Loughlin, Eve Smith, Sophie Russon, Rafel Jeanne and Darcy Ross (clockwise from top left) went missing on a night out

Six police officers will face a misconduct process over their actions after it took them two days to find a car that had crashed and killed three people.

Five people - Sophie Russon, 20, Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Shane Loughlin, 32 - were last seen at about 02:00 GMT on 4 March 2023 after they went missing on a night out.

Police believed the group had been involved in a car crash, but did not find the car until 6 March.

When they found the car, on the A48 near Cardiff, three of the group had died and two were injured.

The families of the three young women had all reported them missing on the evening of 4 March, with Gwent Police receiving the first missing persons report in relation to the group at about 19:30.

Family and friends of the five made repeated appeals to find the missing group over the course of the weekend, with the mother of one of the girls saying she had been told to stop contacting police for updates.

They were eventually found just after midnight on 6 March in the St Mellons area of the city. The white Volkswagen Tiguan had crashed deep in undergrowth near a roundabout, and they were not found for 46 hours.

Ms Smith, Mr Jeanne, who was driving, and Ms Ross, died while Ms Russon and Mr Loughlin were critically injured and taken to hospital.

Mr Loughlin was not driving at the time of the fatal crash, but had driven the same car while inhaling laughing gas earlier that night.

In September 2023, he was sentenced to one year and five months in prison after admitting dangerous driving and driving while disqualified, in relation to the earlier driving.

Eve Smith, Rafel Jeanne and Darcy Ross died in the collision

Court papers obtained by PA news agency revealed that the group had been drinking alcohol and inhaling nitrous oxide - also known as laughing gas - prior to the collision.

An initial inquest hearing into the deaths of Mr Jeanne, Ms Ross and Ms Smith heard they were declared dead at the scene of the crash.

The inquest was adjourned to await the findings of further histology and toxicology tests.

In a statement the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it had "examined Gwent Police's response" to the missing person reports made by family members of the victims "including if they were appropriately risk assessed, reviewed and resourced".

The statement said the following officers face disciplinary proceedings:

• A sergeant responsible for the investigation on 5 March for gross misconduct for their "supervision of the missing persons inquiry"

• A PC for gross misconduct for allegedly failing to carry out basic inquiries including not recording and sharing information with a supervisor, and allegedly failing to communicate appropriately with family members who had reported their loved ones missing

• Two PCs for gross misconduct after allegedly failing to conduct house searches as per policy and giving dishonest accounts to their supervisor and IOPC investigators about this

• One of these officers was also criminally investigated for offences of misconduct in public office and perverting the course of justice, but the IOPC did not find sufficient evidence to make a referral to the Crown Prosecution Service

• A PC for misconduct for allegedly not carrying out adequate house searches as per policy

• A sergeant for misconduct relating to allegations of failing to review all available information at the time of conducting a risk assessment for the missing women

The families of the victims questioned the police response at the time of the incident

IOPC Director, Derrick Campbell, said it had examined "more than thirty complaints" from the families involved regarding the "actions and decisions" made by Gwent Police and South Wales Police.

"The complaints included the way in which both forces communicated with the families throughout the missing person investigation, not progressing information given to police by relatives and communication between the two forces as the investigation progressed."

The IOPC determined that "more than half" the service provided by both forces was "unacceptable", according to Mr Campbell.

Deputy Chief Constable of Gwent Police, Nicky Brain, said the force had "fully co-operated with the IOPC" during the investigation and will now "start the process to hold the relevant misconduct hearings and misconduct meetings".

"We acknowledge the impact that this investigation has had on them and understand how important the findings of the IOPC will be to all those affected and the wider community."

The IOPC also recommended that three South Wales Police officers should undertake "reflective practice" following their investigation.

In a statement, the force said "opportunities were identified" during the investigation to improve the way it worked with Gwent Police on missing person investigations.

It said those changes had "since been implemented."