Helicopter search failed to cover missing couple's M9 crash site

Lamara Bell and her partner John Yuill were found inside their car after it crashed down an embankment off the M9

A helicopter search for a couple who were lying at the side of the M9 after a crash did not cover enough ground to find them, an inquiry has heard.

John Yuill, 28, and girlfriend Lamara Bell, 25, died after their car came off the road near Stirling in July 2015.

It took officers three days to visit the scene of the crash after the accident was reported by a farmer.

Mr Yuill had died and Ms Bell was seriously hurt. She later died in hospital.

A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into their deaths got under way in Falkirk on Monday - it is expected to last about six weeks.

Police Scotland has already admitted that failures in its call-handling system "materially contributed" to Ms Bell's death.

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There have already been a number of investigations into what went wrong in the incident.

It was found that a police officer at the force's Bilston Glen call-handling centre failed to record a report from a farmer on an IT system.

The farmer had alerted officers that a car was at the bottom of an embankment off the M9 near Stirling.

The case was referred to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) and an independent review of call handling in Police Scotland's contact, command and control division led to 30 recommendations for improvements in the service.

Undisputed facts

The latest inquiry began by hearing a joint minute of agreement - facts that are undisputed by the parties involved.

It heard that Lamara Bell and John Yuill had been on a camping trip with three others on 4 July 2015.

Mr Yuill had driven the group to Loch Earn from Falkirk. He had a provisional driving licence and was supervised by a qualified driver.

The inquiry was told that Mr Yuill and Ms Bell left in the early hours of the next morning leaving the rest of the group behind. Ms Bell did not have a driving licence.

They were seen on CCTV at a service station at Broxden. The last connection with a mobile phone mast was made with Mr Yuill's phone at 05:50 at a midway point between Perth and Stirling.

The inquiry was told police received a call about a crashed car near the M9 at Bannockburn just before 11:30 on 5 July. It turned out to be Ms Bell and Mr Yuill's Renault Clio.

Police near the scene of the 2015 crash

It also heard that the call handler Sgt Brian Henry, who was working an overtime shift, did not create an incident report or otherwise log the call. As a result police did not respond.

Sgt Henry had told then chief inspector Michaela Kerr that it had been a while since he had used the system but he was "sure" with a "quick refresher" he would be competent.

He recorded the details in his police notebook, but this was not an accurate system of recording and were his own personal notes.

The inquiry heard how the families of Ms Bell and Mr Yuill reported them missing. Helicopter searches took place around the area where Mr Yuill's phone last connected with the mobile phone mast in Lochearnhead, Crieff, Greenloaning and Auchterarder.

No officers were tasked with searching the M9 south of Keir Roundabout, Dunblane.

The inquiry heard that the car was found in the morning of 8 July by a member of the public who called 999 at 09:51. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service arrived at 10:09.

In September 2021 the force was fined £100,000 after it pled guilty to a charge under the Health and Safety Act and admitted "corporate criminal liability".

The then Chief Constable Sir Iain Livingstone apologised "unreservedly" on behalf of policing in Scotland.

Two months later, it was announced that Ms Bell's family would receive more than £1m in compensation from Police Scotland.

In a statement released at the time the Bell family said the conclusion of the civil claim against the force was the end of "chasing answers, recognition and justice for six years".

The role of an FAI

The FAI will determine the cause of the deaths and the circumstances in which the deaths occurred.

It will also try to establish what reasonable precautions could have been taken to avoid deaths in similar circumstances. FAIs do not apportion blame.

Procurator fiscal Andy Shanks, who leads on death investigations for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said:  "Following a thorough and detailed investigation and criminal prosecution this fatal accident inquiry will look at the full circumstances surrounding these tragic deaths and help avoid such an incident happening again.

"The families of Lamara Bell and John Yuill and their legal representatives will continue to be updated as the inquiry progresses." 

The inquiry, before Sheriff James Williamson, continues.