Volunteers find missing dad dead 'in just hours' after police's 3 week search
Volunteers found the body of a missing father in just two hours after his family suffered an agonising three-week ordeal over Christmas.
Police searched for Greig 'Stodge' Stoddart, 44, after he went missing last month following an angling trip with friend Ian McBurney. While's Mr McBurney, 55, was discovered dead two days later, a lack of resources delayed Police Scotland's search effort for father-of-two Mr Stoddart.
It took a further 21 days for the dad's body to be discovered after specialist search group of volunteers Beneath the Surface assisted the family, from Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire. The Stoddart family are now calling for a key piece of search equipment, called an AquaEye, to be made available to other families desperate to recover the bodies of their loved ones from the water. It is a handheld sonar device, able to scan more than 13,000ft of water within two minutes and can determine which echoes match a human body while ruling out other large items such as sunken trees.
Greig's cousin Thomas Stoddart, 38, said: "No family should have to go through what we have. The police even acknowledged that during a meeting we had with them, but they just do not have the resources that they need which is unacceptable in 2024.
"We couldn't wait any longer to find Greig. I just wanted him out of the water and I made a promise to him that I would get him home one way or another. Christmas Eve alone felt like it lasted for three weeks as we waited for news. It was the hardest festive period of my life and for the rest of our family."
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The father of two, from Clackmannanshire, was a keen angler (UGC)
Mr Stoddart had gone missing during an angling trip with a friend (UGC)Mr Stoddart and Mr McBurney went angling at Gartmorn Dam, near Alloa, Clackmannanshire, on December 24 when they got into difficulty. Beneath the Surface eventually borrowed an AquaEye, worth £6,000, from another search team and used the handheld device to locate Mr Stoddart's boat and body on January 14.
Thomas continued: "The minute the team came out of the water and told us they had found Greig was the biggest weight off everyone’s shoulders. We had kept a vigil at the side of the water every single day and it turns out that we were looking right at the spot where Greig was. But the police had searched and dived all over that area and never found him.
"I identified his body. I didn't have to, but it had gone on for so long that we couldn't wait any longer for the confirmation. We knew he was gone, we just wanted him home.
Thomas continued: "It took just two hours in the water to find Greig with this game-changing piece of equipment. It’s an absolutely phenomenal bit of kit and I’ve seen first hand what it can do. It helped bring us closure very, very quickly. The police did come and recover Greig's body - but only after this team had actually found him.
“The reality is that Police Scotland do not have the resources that they need. Their dive team is based in Greenock so on the days they did come out, they were only in the water for a short time.
“If we’d had access to the AquaEye, we’d have been able to get Greig on Christmas Day. If I'd known then that it would take just £6000 to get him out of there in two days, I’d have found a way to make it happen. I don’t understand why the police aren’t able to invest in this piece of equipment. It would save time and probably money too, in the long run. If we can get more of these kits in Scotland and in the rest of the UK, then hopefully no other family will have to suffer like we did. I know it won’t bring people back, but it will bring families closure much quicker."
The AquaEye is a handheld sonar device that is able to scan more than 13,000ft of water within two minutes. It can determine which echoes match a human body while ruling out other large items such as sunken trees.
The AquaEye was able to locate Greig and the boat after just two hours of useThe family of another man whose body is missing up north has backed the Stoddart family calls to invest in the equipment. Daily Record told on Tuesday how Inverness mum Selina Stewart has spent eight weeks scanning the water for her son Gary after the 22-year-old fell into the Beauly Firth from the Kessock Bridge on November 19.
The police search for Gary has now concluded with no body recovered. Selina, 53, said: “The police should definitely have access to this piece of equipment.
"It could save days, weeks and months of anguish for people who have lost their loved ones in water. I’ve been searching the coastline for weeks just to try to find some sign of Gary. But this piece of kit could help bring my boy home.”
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The Stoddart family have launched a fundraiser to purchase an AquaEye for Beneath the Surface. To donate, please click here. Police Scotland said matters of financing and additional resources are a matter for the Scottish Government.
A force spokesperson added: “Police Scotland treats all missing people with the utmost seriousness. People go missing for a multitude of reasons, all of which are assessed based on risk. Enquiries to trace them are based on a proportionate response depending on individual circumstances and officers use a wide range of technology as part of this.
“Local policing is supported by a number of national resources including our operational support division, which includes the dive and marine unit for underwater searches and POLSA, our search specialists.
“All searches are planned and risk assessed to ensure the best possible chances of finding a person and to safeguard our officers. The families of those who have gone missing are kept up to date throughout a missing persons enquiry.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Our sympathies are with the family and friends of Greig Stoddart and Gary Stewart. Scottish Government officials will raise this issue with Police Scotland for further discussion.”
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