Abuse survivor missing after failed anonymity bid

Kevin Sutherland was reported missing in the early hours of Thursday after posting a "final announcement" on social media

An abuse survivor, who previously waived his right to anonymity, has been reported missing after an inquiry chair ruled his decision could not be reversed.

Kevin Sutherland, 33, gave evidence to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) in 2022.

But last week Mr Sutherland was told that he had failed in a bid to retrospectively remove his name from his harrowing testimony, which was published online.

An inquiry spokesman said it was aware of a "possible tragic incident".

The alarm was raised at 01:50 on Thursday after Mr Sutherland posted a lengthy "final announcement" on social media.

He wrote: "The amount of red flags that have been ignored by absolutely everyone to allow me to get to this final point is unforgivable."

Police Scotland confirmed officers were continuing to conduct a search of the River Forth, near the Queensferry Crossing.

The RNLI said lifeboats from Kinghorn and Queensferry joined the search but were stood down at 05:00 on Thursday.

As a child and teenager Mr Sutherland spent time in care facilities in Edinburgh, Musselburgh in East Lothian and Paisley in Renfrewshire.

In the impact section of his 60-page inquiry statement, he said: "There has been no aftercare whatsoever and I'm surprised I'm still even alive after the hell that whole system has put me through."

Giles Moffatt, co-founder of an abuse survivors' group, said he was first contacted by Mr Sutherland via WhatsApp on 27 November.

The message stated that he was having trouble trying to get his name anonymised.

Giles Moffatt said Mr Sutherland had been "in distress" about the situation

Mr Moffatt said: "The nub of the problem was that he had signed a waiver of anonymity originally and the waiver that he signed did not point out that his name would appear very quickly in a search online."

He added that Mr Sutherland was "horrified" to find his statement after a Google search.

Mr Moffatt also told BBC Scotland News that the inquiry waiver had since been changed to warn that an evidence transcript "may appear prominently in online searches".

He said Mr Sutherland had been "in distress" about the situation for a number of months and confirmed the latest refusal from the inquiry came on Monday.

Mr Moffatt then received a final WhatsApp message from Mr Sutherland at 01:34 on Thursday.

He said: "His message was very much: 'Don't let my life be in vain. Please ensure that people get to hear my story because I am not being listened to by this inquiry."

A spokesperson for the inquiry said: "We have been made aware of a possible tragic incident involving an individual who has been engaging with the inquiry.

"Our thoughts are with all those who have been affected.

"In the interests of transparency, SCAI will commission an independent review as soon as possible to consider all aspects of its interactions with the individual."