Dad-of-four died after falling into ditch filled with freezing water during walk
A pensioner whose disappearance sparked a huge police search died after falling into a freezing dyke filled with water.
A search for Iain MacNicol, 77, was launched after he failed to return from a walk near his home in Pocklington, East Yorkshire, on January 23 last year.
Footage of the fit and healthy dad-of-four captured his final hours before his tragic death.
An inquest in Hull heard how his body was found submerged in a dyke off a footpath near Market Weighton following a massive search.
Police divers were called to retrieve the body from the ditch where the water was two or three feet deep and the temperature at that time was only 3-4C, Hull Live reports.
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CCTV footage captured his final hours before Iain MacNicol's tragic death (Hull Daily Mail / MEN Media)The inquest heard how a heartbreaking decline with dementia may have contributed to Mr MacNicol's death. His wife told how he could become confused and disorientated.
Because her husband loved to go for walks, she had tried to persuade him to wear a GPS tracker with her phone number but he had refused.
It is also thought on the walk when he died, Mr MacNicol, from Pocklington, may have been trying to walk to Stevenage where he had links, a distance of 170-miles from his home. He was found in fields between Market Weighton and Holme-on-Spalding Moor.
The inquest heard Mr MacNicol, went missing On January 23 last year. Due to his age and condition, Humberside Police immediately launched a search and called on the public’s help to find him. Urgent appeals were made to trace the pensioner. This included asking drivers in the Market Weighton area to check their dashcam footage.
Despite CCTV capturing his movements and a number of sightings, Mr MacNicol was discovered two days later submerged in a dyke off a footpath near Market Weighton.
During the inquest on Friday, Dr Laszlo Karsai said the cause of Mr MacNicol’s death was due to immersion in cold water while heart disease was a contributing factor. He said it was likely Mr MacNicol suffered a heart attack after falling into the freezing water.
A statement was read out from Mr MacNicol’s wife who described how she met him in Malaga in 2001 where he had a home. Mr MacNicol was born in Glasgow and owned a building company. At the time they met, he was divorced and had three grown-up children.
In the statement, his wife said: “Iain was very fit and healthy. He was a happy person and he made me happy also. After four years I became pregnant and we had a daughter.”
She went on to say Mr MacNicol suffered a stroke but he recovered well. The couple got married in 2008 and they moved to Brazil where they lived for three years before returning to Malaga.
But as time went on, Mr MacNicol’s behaviour changed. His wife said: “He became angry which was out of character. Most of the time he was still nice and happy.”
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Just as the Covid pandemic hit the couple had moved back to Brazil but Mr MacNicol was unhappy and his health was deteriorating. The couple decided to come back to the UK so he could get medical treatment and they moved to Pocklington in August 2020.
The following year Mr MacNicol was diagnosed with dementia. His wife admitted it was difficult to keep an eye on him as he remained physically fit.
She said: “He would try and go out in the middle of the night and once climbed out of a window. I had to lock all the doors and windows which I felt bad about.
“I also got him a GPS tag with our phone number on it in case he got lost but he refused to wear it as he felt he was okay. On the day he went missing I was tired and resting while he was downstairs watching the football. When I came down alter he was gone.”
Mr MacNicol had often talked about going to Stevenage where he had links. Both his family and police believe that, in his confused state, he may have attempted to walk there despite being 170 miles away.
The inquest heard officers were tasked to search for Mr MacNicol. An officer on an off-road motorbike was travelling along a footpath between Market Weighton and Holme-on-Spalding Moor when he spotted a blue jacket in the adjacent dyke.
Taking a closer look, he realised it was a body which matched the description of Mr MacNicol. He climbed down the bank but could not reach him, however, realised there were no signs of life. Mr MacNicol’s legs seemed to be stuck under a tree which had fallen across the dyke.
The force’s underwater team was called and they retrieved his body. The water was two or three feet deep and the temperature at that time was only 3-4C.
Assistant coroner Edward Steele concluded Mr MacNicol’s death was ‘accidental’. He said: “Mr MacNicol came to be in the water by accident. We cannot say how that came about. We do not know whether the tree fell which caused him to fall or whether he fell in further up and was carried down, coming into contact with the tree.
“This was a tragic accident and I express my deepest and sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr MacNicol. He was clearly a much loved and cared for individual.”
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