Body found in lake identified as missing woman Rachel Booth, police say
Cheshire Constabulary said on Tuesday that the body of Ms Booth, 38, was recovered from a lake in Oakmere.
The mother-of-three, from Northwich, Cheshire, was reported missing in the early hours of Saturday.
She was last seen by her family in the Barnton area of the market town, with the last sighting of her at around 3.50am, around five miles away at the Sandiway garage on the A556 road.
Wild Shore Delamere water park, next to Delamere Lake holiday park, closed over the weekend as police officers, underwater search teams and Cheshire Search and Rescue conducted enquiries.
Read more from Sky News:
A police spokeswoman said: "Rachel's family continue to be supported by specialist officers from Cheshire Police."
The force said on Monday that there were not believed to be any suspicious circumstances, and added a file would be prepared for the coroner.
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Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Parents to sue police force over death of transgender teenager
The mother and stepfather of a transgender teenager who took his own life after going missing are taking High Court legal action against a police force whose response was found to have potentially contributed to his death. Jason Pulman was found dead aged 15 in Hampden Park in Eastbourne in April 2022, with an inquest jury finding in April last year that his emotional and mental needs were 'inadequately assessed and provided for' by multiple services, and that police 'responded inadequately' to his going missing. Emily and Mark Pulman are now suing Sussex Police over an alleged breach of human rights, with around 10 hours passing between Jason being reported missing and an officer first attending their family home. Jason Pulman (Image: Family handout/INQUEST/PA Wire) They claim the force 'failed properly or at all to protect Jason against the risk of suicide' after he was graded only a 'medium risk', and that there was a 'real prospect of a different outcome' if there was a 'reasonable response' to Jason's disappearance. They also say the force is 'flip-flopping' over its position and whether it has learned from Jason's death. Sussex Police has expressed its 'sincere condolences' to Jason's family. Speaking to the PA news agency, the couple said Jason's death, the subsequent inquest and legal battle had been 'devastating'. Mrs Pulman, 39, said: 'If the police can actually take accountability for what has happened and what went wrong, that is the only way they can start making changes.' She continued: 'I think about Jason and how much he used to fight for things he believed in. He used to go to protests and research and get involved in different things because he wanted to make change. 'I want to try and get some change for kids like Jason, as I know that that is what he would want as well. 'When I feel like quitting, I have got Jason's cheeky little head in my head, with his outfit, with all his badges on, saying 'you must fight for what you believe', and that is what gives me strength.' Jason began identifying as a male aged around 14, but never received specialist gender dysphoria treatment due to assessment delays. In documents filed at the High Court by law firm Bindmans, Nick Armstrong KC, for Mr and Mrs Pulman, claimed Jason also received insufficient mental health support. On April 19 2022, Mrs Pulman discovered Jason was missing from their home in East Sussex and called the police. She informed a call handler that Jason was transgender, had previously self-harmed and attempted to take his own life, and may have taken public transport. Jason Pulman and his stepfather Mark Pulman, and his mother, Emily Pulman (Image: Family handout/Bindmans Lawyers London/PA Wire) The call handler graded Jason as medium-risk, but an officer did not look at the case for more than three hours after the first call, despite Mrs Pulman ringing police twice more and stating Jason had informed a friend he was travelling to London, most likely by train. Jason remained graded as medium-risk, the British Transport Police (BTP) were not notified, and an officer did not attend the family's home for almost 10 hours after the first call. This was despite there being 'other opportunities' to intercept Jason, Mr Armstrong said. Around an hour after police visited the house, Jason was found dead in Hampden Park by a member of the public. In a prevention of future deaths report last year, a coroner said Jason died 'potentially through his mental health and gender identity issues', and that it was 'also possible Jason may have been prevented from committing suicide' if BTP was made aware that he was missing. Mr Armstrong said police knew or should have known that Jason 'represented a real and immediate risk of life-threatening harm', but that their response was 'slow, and strikingly casual'. He continued that Jason was a 'source of unlimited joy', describing him as 'funny, mischievous, artistic, rude and unconventional', and that his death was an 'unimaginable tragedy'. Nine days after Jason's death, Mr and Mrs Pulman met then-chief superintendent Katy Woolford. Mr Armstrong said that Ms Woolford told the Pulmans that they had done 'everything right' - but also added that there had been failings by the police, including not immediately grading Jason as high-risk. But the barrister continued that there was a 'significant and distressing shift in the police's evidence' at Jason's inquest, with the force allegedly seeking to exclude evidence related to the meeting with Ms Woolford and claiming there was 'no arguable omission by anyone'. The force accepted the inquest findings, stating that its service 'fell below the standards expected', but is accused of changing its stance again when the family threatened to bring legal action. (Image: Family handout/Bindmans Lawyers London/PA Wire) Mr Armstrong said that the force's 'reversal and re-reversal' on its position was 'shameful', adding: 'The claimants do not know whether the defendant has or has not learned from the inquest process.' Mrs Pulman said: 'You feel like you're getting close to answers and closure as to what happened and what has been happening, and then it is pulled away again.' She continued: 'It's like torture, because you're getting somewhere, then you're kicked down.' Mr Pulman, 50, said the force's 'flip-flopping' left the pair feeling 'let down, hurt and confused', which, combined with the emotional impact of Jason's death, means he feels 'hopeless'. He said: 'No amount of money, no apology, is going to make up for three years of what they've done, because that's long-term damage.' A Sussex Police spokesperson said: 'Our sincere condolences remain with Jason's family following their tragic loss; however, we are unable to comment further whilst legal proceedings are ongoing.'
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Police responses to missing people must change after teenager death, couple say
A couple have said police must change how they deal with missing person reports to better protect those at risk of harm following the suicide of a teenager who was reported missing several hours before he died. Jason Pulman's mother, Emily Pulman, told police her missing son was transgender, had self-harmed, had previously attempted to take his own life and could have boarded a train around 11 hours before he was found dead, aged 15, in Hampden Park, Eastbourne, in April 2022. An inquest into his death later found Sussex Police had responded inadequately to his going missing, one of several failings which contributed to Jason's death. Mrs Pulman and her husband, Mark Pulman, are now taking legal action against the force over an alleged breach of human rights, claiming it should have acted sooner given that Jason posed 'a heightened risk of suicide'. Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Pulman, 50, said he still feared the police had not learned from Jason's case and were too 'stubborn' to change. He said: 'Our police force seems to think 'we'll just pop round, and grab a photo and have a quick look around the bedroom, then we will go back to the station and make a decision on what to do'. 'It's not good enough.' In court documents filed at the High Court by law firm Bindmans, Nick Armstrong KC, for Mr and Mrs Pulman, said that on April 19 2022, Mrs Pulman rang police at around 9.45am and told police the teenager was missing. Jason was graded as 'medium' risk, and the call handler also noted that there was 'no suicide intent believed', contrary to what Mrs Pulman told them, Mr Armstrong said. An officer did not access the report until around 1.30pm, and after Mrs Pulman had contacted police twice more to tell them Jason was believed to be travelling to London, most likely by train. The officer maintained Jason's risk as medium, did not contact British Transport Police (BTP) and 'did not even speak to Mark or Emily or attempt to do so', Mr Armstrong added, with no further actions raised as 'urgent'. While BTP were alerted at around 6.15pm, this was after Jason was spotted by a train guard, who later told an inquest he would have attempted to intervene had he known Jason was at risk. A Sussex Police officer did not attend the family home until around 7.30pm, and around an hour later, Jason was found dead in Hampden Park by a member of the public. Mr Armstrong said calls to Sussex Police are graded by a call handler, with the first officer attending the scene then reassessing the level of risk. He added that the force's policy states the first attending officer plays a 'pivotal role' in setting the pace of the investigation, and that 'golden hour' principles of finding missing people apply. As well as a missing persons policy, Mr Armstrong said a call could be graded as 'grade one' where there 'is, or is likely to be, a risk of danger to life'. Mr Armstrong said: 'Jason was at real and immediate risk of life-threatening harm. 'He exhibited a number of characteristics, and fitted a profile, which the defendant knew or ought to have known represented a heightened risk of suicide.' He continued: 'Generally, there was a serious delay of, in the end, nearly 11 hours, during which little if any effective action was taken. 'The defendant's action was in all respects slow, and strikingly casual, given the scale of the vulnerabilities and risks being reported. 'Had there been a reasonable response, there was a real prospect of a different outcome.' Mr Pulman told Jason's inquest that he made more than 100 calls to organisations, including train operators, hospitals and hostels after Jason went missing, to circulate his details and images. But many organisations would not take the information as he was not a police officer, and it took more than an hour for a hospital to agree to take Jason's description. HE told PA the system used is 'not good enough for people with mental health conditions' as it is 'too black and white'. Mrs Pulman, 39, said that changing how police respond to missing person reports would be an indicator of learning, as missing teenagers currently 'fall through the cracks' and reports are perceived as 'flippant'. She said: 'The beginning of the process is where it all went wrong.' She continued: 'If they are not admitting to the failings that happened for Jason, then they're admitting that there is nothing wrong with their system, which isn't the case.' She added: 'Kids Jason's age have so many markers of worry and stuff they are going through, which systems made all those years ago cannot cater for.' Following Jason's inquest, Sussex Police said it had introduced contingency measures for checking reports are resourced and graded appropriately. It also said that a multi-agency group had been launched to 'put measures in place to ensure vulnerable children with complex mental health needs'. In response to the High Court claim, a spokesperson said: 'Our sincere condolences remain with Jason's family following their tragic loss; however, we are unable to comment further whilst legal proceedings are ongoing.'
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Couple sue police force at High Court over death of transgender teenager
The mother and stepfather of a transgender teenager who took his own life after going missing are taking High Court legal action against a police force whose response was found to have potentially contributed to his death. Jason Pulman was found dead aged 15 in Hampden Park in Eastbourne in April 2022, with an inquest jury finding in April last year that his emotional and mental needs were 'inadequately assessed and provided for' by multiple services, and that police 'responded inadequately' to his going missing. Emily and Mark Pulman are now suing Sussex Police over an alleged breach of human rights, with around 10 hours passing between Jason being reported missing and an officer first attending their family home. They claim the force 'failed properly or at all to protect Jason against the risk of suicide' after he was graded only a 'medium risk', and that there was a 'real prospect of a different outcome' if there was a 'reasonable response' to Jason's disappearance. They also say the force is 'flip-flopping' over its position and whether it has learned from Jason's death. The force has expressed its 'sincere condolences' to Jason's family. Speaking to the PA news agency, the couple said Jason's death, the subsequent inquest and legal battle had been 'devastating'. Mrs Pulman, 39, said: 'If the police can actually take accountability for what has happened and what went wrong, that is the only way they can start making changes.' She continued: 'I think about Jason and how much he used to fight for things he believed in. He used to go to protests and research and get involved in different things because he wanted to make change.' 'I want to try and get some change for kids like Jason, as I know that that is what he would want as well. 'When I feel like quitting, I have got Jason's cheeky little head in my head, with his outfit, with all his badges on, saying 'you must fight for what you believe', and that is what gives me strength.' Jason began identifying as a male aged around 14, but never received specialist gender dysphoria treatment due to assessment delays. In documents filed at the High Court by law firm Bindmans, Nick Armstrong KC, for Mr and Mrs Pulman, claimed Jason also received insufficient mental health support. On April 19 2022, Mrs Pulman discovered Jason was missing from their home in East Sussex and called the police. She informed a call handler that Jason was transgender, had previously self-harmed and attempted to take his own life, and may have taken public transport. The call handler graded Jason as medium-risk, but an officer did not look at the case for more than three hours after the first call, despite Mrs Pulman ringing police twice more and stating Jason had informed a friend he was travelling to London, most likely by train. Jason remained graded as medium-risk, the British Transport Police (BTP) were not notified, and an officer did not attend the family's home for almost 10 hours after the first call. This was despite there being 'other opportunities' to intercept Jason, Mr Armstrong said. Around an hour after police visited the house, Jason was found dead in Hampden Park by a member of the public. In a prevention of future deaths report last year, a coroner said Jason died 'potentially through his mental health and gender identity issues', and that it was 'also possible Jason may have been prevented from committing suicide' if BTP was made aware that he was missing. Mr Armstrong said police knew or should have known that Jason 'represented a real and immediate risk of life-threatening harm', but that their response was 'slow, and strikingly casual'. He continued that Jason was a 'source of unlimited joy', describing him as 'funny, mischievous, artistic, rude and unconventional', and that his death was an 'unimaginable tragedy'. Nine days after Jason's death, Mr and Mrs Pulman met then-chief superintendent Katy Woolford. Mr Armstrong said that Ms Woolford told the Pulmans that they had done 'everything right' and that there had been failings by the police, including not immediately grading Jason as high-risk. But the barrister continued that there was a 'significant and distressing shift in the police's evidence' at Jason's inquest, with the force allegedly seeking to exclude evidence related to the meeting with Ms Woolford and claiming there was 'no arguable omission by anyone'. The force accepted the inquest findings, stating that its service 'fell below the standards expected', but is accused of changing its stance again when the family threatened to bring legal action. Mr Armstrong said that the force's 'reversal and re-reversal' on its position was 'shameful', adding: 'The claimants do not know whether the defendant has or has not learned from the inquest process.' Mrs Pulman said: 'You feel like you're getting close to answers and closure as to what happened and what has been happening, and then it is pulled away again.' She continued: 'It's like torture, because you're getting somewhere, then you're kicked down.' Mr Pulman, 50, said the force's 'flip-flopping' left the pair feeling 'let down, hurt and confused', which, combined with the emotional impact of Jason's death, means he feels 'hopeless'. He said: 'No amount of money, no apology, is going to make up for three years of what they've done, because that's long-term damage.' A Sussex Police spokesperson said: 'Our sincere condolences remain with Jason's family following their tragic loss; however, we are unable to comment further whilst legal proceedings are ongoing.'
