Body found after search for missing swimmer in loch
The body of a 42-year-old man has been recovered at Loch Ard in the Trossachs.Police received a report about 21:00 on Saturday that that a man who was swimming in the loch had gone missing. Extensive searches were carried out by the dive and marine unit along with the Mountain Rescue Team and air support unit.The man's body was recovered early on Sunday afternoon.
Police Scotland said the his next of kin have been made aware.There are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and a report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.Loch Ard is in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park near Aberfoyle and is a popular destination for swimmers, kayakers and water skiers.
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Daily Record
31 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Family of Cole Cooper cancel search after body found in hunt for missing teen
The 19-year-old's loved ones were made aware of the discovery near Kilsyth Road in Banknock near Falkirk on Friday. The family of Cole Cooper have cancelled an upcoming search as a body has been discovered in the hunt for the missing teenager. The 19-year-old's loved ones were made aware of the discovery in a wooded area near Kilsyth Road in Banknock, Falkirk, at around 4.15pm on Friday. Formal identification has yet to take place. A grand-scale search was due to take place for Cole on Sunday, however, the event has since been cancelled. A statement from a family friend online reads: "I've been asked to inform everyone that the search on Sunday, June 8 is cancelled. The family appreciate everyone's continued help, please share to inform everyone who was due to attend the search tomorrow. "Comments will remain off at the moment and the family will update the page as soon as they can." Cole, from Banknock, Cole was last seen on May 7 on the A803 near Cumbernauld Road in Longcroft, when he asked a school friend for a lift, which he was not given. Prior to that, he was captured on alarming ring doorbell footage on the morning of Sunday, May 4 at around 6am in the Longcroft area. He was filmed trying to access his father's house unsuccessfully. He was reported missing on Friday, May 9. The grim discovery was made just a 15 minutes walk away from the last confirmed sighting of the teenager. Police say inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the death are ongoing Meanwhile, a temporary airspace restriction ahead of where the body was discovered is in place. The restriction, which includes drones, will be in place until 9pm on Saturday. A statement from Police Scotland read: "Around 4.15pm on Friday, 6 June, 2025, the body of a man was discovered in a wooded area near Kilsyth Road in Banknock. "Formal identification has yet to take place however the family of missing man Cole Cooper, 19, has been informed. Enquiries remain ongoing to establish the full circumstances." More than 400 people were spoken to during door-to-door inquiries, while over 2,000 hours of CCTV were reviewed. Police previously treated the case as a missing person investigation rather than a criminal inquiry. Earlier this week, officers said they would revisit the locations where Cole was last seen in a fresh attempt to trace potential witnesses. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. Chief Inspector Alex Hatrick, local area commander, had previously thanked the public for supporting the investigation and urged anyone with information to come forward. We told yesterday how the tragic teen's family said they had lived through a five weeks of "hell" and were planning to launch a fresh search for him on Sunday, June 8. On a dedicated Facebook page set up to help the search for Cole, Aimee said: "Every second, every minute, and every hour is becoming more painful. Sunday June 8 marks five weeks."
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Daughter reveals chilling phone call made hours after mum vanished 15 years ago – as cops find body buried in garden
A MYSTERY phone call could prove vital in cracking the cold case of a mum who vanished 15 years ago, The Sun can reveal. Izabela Helena Zabłocka went missing in August 2010, aged 30, after moving to Derbyshire from Poland the previous year. 9 9 9 9 But an investigation wasn't opened by British cops until last month, thanks to a baffling miscommunication gaffe. Once the probe finally kicked into gear, officers made five arrests before finding remains in a back garden and charging a woman with murder on Friday - all within a matter of a couple of weeks. Anna Podedworna, 39, also faces charges of preventing a lawful burial and perverting the course of justice. Now, Izabela's daughter, Kasia, who was just nine when she vanished, has told The Sun about an odd phone conversation she had in the hours after her mum was first reported missing. Kasia and her grandmother would speak to Izabela every day over the phone after her move to Britain - but when she suddenly stopped, they became frantic with worry. The young girl had been continuously trying to contact her mum when an unknown woman answered and told her she didn't know Izabela and hung up. Kasia told us: "It was a conversation of a few seconds, I was only a child. "The woman, as far as I remember, told me that she doesn't know my mother, doesn't know who Izabela is, and hung up." Soon after that, Kasia recalls, the phone was disconnected. Her family - who don't speak English - relayed all of this to Polish cops at the time but the trail eventually ran cold, without any answers about what had happened. Derbyshire Constabulary say the first they heard of Izabela was last month when Kasia, now 25, after years of appeals for help, got in touch on a whim. She was as surprised as anyone that British cops hadn't been involved in the case at all - assuming Polish forces must have been liaising with them all these years. And Izabela's case might not be the only one to slip through the cracks. Speaking to The Sun, former top Scotland Yard cop Peter Bleksley said: 'Given all the circumstances, my question is how many more? How many other cases are like this in the UK?' He said it's so easy for someone to move to the UK and then after months or even years disappear but because they're not part of a stable support network, are never reported to police. He added: 'How many more have entered communities, but are murdered and done away with but no one is going to miss them?' Of course, Izabela's family, particularly daughter Kasia, never did give up looking - but were let down by authorities again and again. Speaking to The Sun after remains were found in the garden of a home in Princes Street - a road where Izabela had lived - last week, Kasia had said: 'I definitely want to know the truth as soon as possible.' Her mum, who had called back home every day prior to vanishing on August 29 2010, had communicated to the family she planned to return home imminently. Have YOU got a story or an amazing picture or video? Email exclusive@ and you could even get PAID It's understood Kasia's grandmother had even sent her daughter money to buy a plane ticket but she never arrived and her phone was suddenly deactivated after the strange call. When they reported her missing to Polish cops, it seems they simply assumed she'd made it back to her homeland. They told Izabela's family they checked hospitals and prisons, and over the years did collect DNA samples, including hair from her wedding veil. However, Kasia said the case was then archived in the mid-2010s, and her loved ones feared they would never learn what happened. Mr Bleksley said: 'In terms of the Polish police, they paid it absolute lip service. Not in a hospital, not in a jail, don't really care.' In contrast, he said the investigation by Derbyshire Constabulary 'moved at break neck speed', which is a credit to those involved. 'From it getting reported, even having heard her name for the first time, it's only days until someone has been arrested, re-arrested, and now in custody,' he continued. 'In stark contrast to the Polish police, Derbyshire have taken it very seriously, they must have made a considerable amount of enquiries to rapidly make arrests and nail the correct address, start excavating and unfortunately find remains.' He said he hoped 'despite the passage of time' the remains 'provide a treasure trove of forensic evidence'. 9 9 9 Mr Bleksley went on to say: 'It smacks to me that somebody was desperate to tell the police what they knew, and they had been waiting for that knock on the door all that time.' He said the excavation 'will be absolutely painstaking' because 'any tiny microscopic' piece of forensic evidence 'will be crucial to nailing the case'. 'This is almost like a textbook test of modern forensic science,' he added. Asked if he believes Izabela - if the remains prove to be hers - was killed by someone she knew, Mr Bleksley said: 'That is very difficult to speculate. The fact that arrests were made so swiftly, indicates to me that these were people that were known to each other - that I will say… 'I'm not being intentionally flippant here but they are going to solve this. 'Somebody, I feel, is desperate to tell people what they saw. That's why it's galloped forward so quickly. Someone's almost gone 'oh I thought you'd never come - right okay, this is what I saw, this is who did it.'' Mr Bleksley added: 'As much as we criticise our police, and as much as we at times fall short and fail us all, by and large, when it comes to the big, serious, major investigations, they do very well.' He pointed to examples of Brits who have lost loved ones abroad and they've remained unexplained, including Madeleine McCann. 'We sometimes have a lot to be grateful for when it comes to our police force investigating serious crime,' he said. Mr Bleksley also added that had Madeleine - who vanished while on holiday in Portugal in 2007, aged three - gone missing 'under similar circumstances' in the UK, 'that case would have been solved a very long time ago'. During his career he's worked with police forces across the world, including the US, Belgium, France and the Netherlands, sometimes undercover. He championed British forces, in comparison, for their work ethics and systems of investigation. Asked if whilst working in other countries he recognised blindsides in local cops' working, he said: 'I did, which is why I was called in so often to help foreign law enforcement with their cases.' The existence of the likes of Europol, Interpol and the National Crime Agency designed to help police communicate internationally, it may appear archaic that a case like Izabela's can fall through the cracks. 'They can only be effective if the liaison through different countries is good,' said Mr Bleksley. 'In this case, it was appalling to the extent of being non-existent. 'If the Polish police had done their job properly, this case would've been solved years ago.' Asked if it is likely there will be some kind of watchdog probe into what went wrong in Poland, Mr Bleksley said: 'That I don't know, that would be a matter for the family, I'm sure for any forces in the UK, litigation would be pursued, of course, not to mention the complaints procedure. 'I don't know what the situation is in Poland with regards to that. He added: 'There's plenty more embarrassment for the Polish police force coming down the line if this case runs its course and ends up in a trial.' Asked if there's any chance Derbyshire Police were simply mistaken and, despite their assertions, ignored communications with Poland over the years about the case, Mr Bleksley said it's unlikely. 'Everything gets logged these days. Everything goes into the computer system and lives there forever. 'Derbyshire Police wouldn't have been as bullish as they have been by saying we had no trace of this if actually they didn't have any trace.' 'I did everything to publicise my mum's disappearance' Kasia told The Sun last week, prior to the remains discovery: "When Mum went missing, I was 9 years old, I was a child. "It was only when I became an adult that I took up the search for Mum again. "I did everything to publicise my mother's disappearance; it took me a lot of time, but I hope I will find out the truth." She went on to say: "My family reported the case to the Polish police 15 years ago, but now we are finding out that the British police did not receive the report during those 15 years, and they have only just started an investigation. "The Polish police only checked prisons and hospitals and didn't find anything significant, and after a few years, the disappearance case went to the archive." She continued: "I started looking for her on my own as soon as I became an adult. "I started publicising my mother's disappearance in Poland, in the media and on YouTube. I did everything I could, and Polish charities helped me with this. "I started making posters about my mother's disappearance. I wrote to the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in London, and they wrote back that they would check the prisons in England and Wales, but I did not receive any information on whether this was actually checked." The 25-year-old had hoped her mum had simply decided to start a new life, and she would suddenly appear with a new identity. However, those hopes were quashed when murder arrests were made, with Kasia admitting: "I'm very upset by the news I've received, and I'm so sorry that I received this message and not another one. "I've been looking for her for 15 years, and I hope I finally find out the truth." Two other women aged 39 and 43, and two men aged 41 and 48, were arrested on suspicion of murder and all remain on police bail pending further inquiries Detective Inspector Kane Martin, who is leading the investigation, said after the body was found: 'Izabela's family are at the forefront of our minds following this discovery and, whilst formal identification has not yet taken place, it is our belief that these remains do belong to Izabela." Mr Martin went on to say: 'We have spoken with Izabela's family in Poland, and they are aware. Our thoughts are with them at this extremely difficult time. 'Identification of the remains is likely to be a lengthy process, but we will issue updates when we are able. 'I know that reports of these findings will send shockwaves through the local community, and I understand the concern of residents. 'Officers will remain in Princes Street in the coming days, and anyone with concerns is encouraged to speak with them." DI Martin explained that a "dedicated team of detectives" would continue their investigation to "piece together information" about the days leading up to Izabela's death. Izabela worked at the former Cranberry Foods chicken and turkey factory in Scropton, around 10 miles west of Derby. Crimestoppers is offering up to £20,000 for exclusive information relating to the investigation that leads to a conviction, with the reward valid for three months until August 27. Anyone with information can contact the charity via its website, or by calling 0800 555 111. 9 9
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Is this the end of the road in the hunt for Madeleine McCann? How the desperate new search unfolded in Portugal
The mystery of the missing three-year-old Madeleine McCann has preoccupied the British public since she vanished from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, in Portugal's Algarve 18 years ago. Millions of pounds have been spent on investigation after investigation amid relentless media scrutiny, but progress appeared to have all but stalled until 2020, when German investigators revealed they had identified a prime suspect – convicted rapist Christian Brueckner. So when German Federal officers this week descended on a string of abandoned buildings in a stretch of neglected wasteland near a cottage he used to rent outside Praia da Luz, armed with high-tech ground penetrating radar, the world watched. Is it possible that this time they would uncover the truth? Officials have not yet commented on what, if anything, they discovered. But as crews packed up with a few soil samples and some animal bones after three days of searches on Thursday, it seemed like they were once again leaving without answers. Not even Portuguese police, who supported the German search efforts, knew what intelligence had prompted them to suddenly target these remote locations. But without concrete evidence linking Brueckner to Madeleine's disappearance, German officers are in a race against time. The 47-year-old suspect could be freed from Sehnde prison, outside Hanover, by September as his seven-year sentence for a raping a 72-year-old American woman in Praia Da Luz in 2005 comes to an end. Brueckner, who denies any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance, has already revealed he plans to leave Germany when he's released, with suggestions he could move to the Far East or South America. Small teams of a dozen-or-so officers spent three days this week in the beating sun as they scoured derelict farmhouses and outbuildings in the stretch of scrubland just over a mile from where Madeleine was last seen. The 120-acre area, off a dramatic clifftop path along the coast between Atalaia and Lagos, is said to have once been populated by a farming community, but it has long been abandoned because it is so arid. Officers from Portugal's most senior force the Policia Judiciaria usually spend their time investigating serious organised crime, terrorism and murders, but found themselves shifting rocks and rubble in the unrelenting heat as they were drafted in to support German investigators. They used shovels and chainsaws as they battled with rock-hard ground and overgrown vegetation. They brought in a digger as they cleared rubble and detritus from inside the old structures, seemingly to clear the path to use ground penetrating radar equipment on the second day. Fire crews helped them to pump out a disused well at one derelict farm building, which was littered with graffiti. Watching them work, it was apparent that if the answer to Madeleine's disappearance lies in this outback, the odds of them finding any meaningful evidence after almost two decades are depressingly slim. The swathe of scrubland is completely devoid of shelter from the midday sun or strong winds blowing in from the coast. The vast expanse of hilltop is dotted with old buildings, barns and other structures which have fallen to wrack and ruin. Many appear to have been used by itinerants or those looking for a remote haunt to drink, with signs of old campfires outside. It was clear that it is an area so vast and inhospitable you could never search every square inch, and the search teams seemed resigned to their gruelling duties. When one local policeman was asked by a journalist what they expected to find he rolled his eyes and shrugged, before saying: 'You tell me.' In a valley less than a mile away, where Brueckner rented a run-down cottage at the time of Madeleine's disappearance, a neighbour recalled how the 'angry' young man used to have regular rows with his girlfriend. She hit out at the latest search operation, adding: 'It's a pile of rubbish, we are all so exhausted, it just goes on and on. It beggars belief.' Brueckner's former friend Helge Busching, who has testified to German police that he confessed to him a year after her disappearance, this week issued a stark warning. 'They have to find something because time is running out,' he told the Daily Mail. 'Brueckner could go free in September and, if he does, he will disappear. There has to be some hope for Madeleine's parents.' When investigators appeared to pack up and leave without answers at the end of the search on Thursday evening, there were no obvious signs of any major discoveries. Kate and Gerry McCann have not commented on the latest efforts, which come just a month after they marked the 18th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance and what would have been her 22nd birthday. But it is not the first time their hopes will have been dashed in the long years since she vanished without a trace. Nevertheless, nearly two decades on they remain optimistic. In a statement posted on their website last month, they wrote: 'As we arrive at the 18th anniversary of Madeleine's abduction, we'd like to thank our faithful supporters once again for standing by us and never forgetting about Madeleine. 'The years appear to be passing even more quickly and whilst we have no significant news to share, our determination to 'leave no stone unturned' is unwavering. We will do our utmost to achieve this'. Whether this most recent search will ultimately produce the answers they desperately seek remains to be seen.
