Death of missing man who died yards from front door ruled accidental

Search dog located 78-year-old two days after police had searched garden where he was found

*This story contains information which some readers may find distressing. 

The death of a Douglas man who was found under a hedge, just yards from the sheltered housing complex where he lived, has been ruled an accident.

Joseph Bernard Rice’s body was recovered on 22 January – he’d been missing for four days; his inquest was concluded at Douglas Courthouse today (6 October).

The retired bricklayer, who was 78-years-old, had lived in an apartment at Ballanard Court – a facility operated by Douglas Borough Council.

Missing Person

Police started searching for him on 20 January after being contacted by Mr Rice’s family who were concerned that the warden at the complex couldn’t locate him.

The court was told she’d attempted to conduct a daily welfare check, the previous morning, but her efforts to reach Mr Rice over the telephone, or in person, were unsuccessful.

Repeated efforts the next day were also without success; it was noted in court that 33 hours had passed between it being recorded that Mr Rice wasn’t at home and an official search starting.  

Search

The police officer leading that search told the court the Isle of Man Constabulary worked on the hypothesis that Mr Rice had left home on foot, unplanned, and in a potentially ‘delirious state’.

Concerns were noted about the temperatures, which were falling below zero overnight, and the fact his glasses, hearing aids, keys, phone and mobility scooter had been left at his home.

Call data showed Mr Rice had last used his mobile at around 1am on 19 January – his son confirmed that he’d been contacted by his father in the early hours asking if he’d been knocking at his door.

The court also heard Mr Rice had been due to undergo a memory test after concerns about his short-term memory and had struggled with his mobility; he was also taking medication to help him sleep.

Ballanard Road

Officers conducted house to house enquiries on Ballanard Road and searched the properties and gardens along it.

Drones were also used to search the fields in the surrounding areas and Civil Defence volunteers were brought in to check footpaths, verges and the river.

The Search and Rescue Dog Association was also called in to help and search dog Ruby tasked with trying to find Mr Rice.

However initial efforts were unsuccessful with the dog’s handler telling the court it was ‘one of the most difficult pick-ups (of scent) I’ve ever experienced’.

At 8.30pm, on 20 January, two police officers searched the garden of 67 Ballanard Road – the property directly opposite Mr Rice’s home.

Both reported difficulties in conducting a thorough search due to the darkness and the thick bushes at the property – one of the officers said they could see a football under the hedge but reported nothing else of note.

They suggested the area should be re-searched in daylight.

Two days later, early on the morning of 22 January, the SARDA team returned to Ballanard Court and began a fresh search; shortly afterwards Ruby helped locate Mr Rice.

He was lying behind a wall, underneath a hedge of trees, in the garden of 67 Ballanard Road.

Post-Mortem

A post-mortem showed Mr Rice had suffered a laceration to his scalp which was caused by a fall or collapse; traces of prescribed sedatives and painkillers were also found in his system.

He was showing the early signs of a chest infection which the pathologist said he believed was due to Mr Rice spending time outside in the cold in his pyjamas.

Mr Rice’s cause of death was recorded as hypothermia with the doctor confirming that the drugs in his system may have contributed to a ‘disturbed state of mind’ at the time of his death.

Verdict

Coroner of Inquests James Brooks said, whilst it ‘can never be said with certainty’ what happened, he believed Mr Rice had left home, and died, in the early hours of 19 January after calling his son.

It was likely, he said, that Mr Rice was in a ‘confused state’ and, in the darkness, entered the driveway of the property opposite and ‘inadvertently entered the hedge’.

“Why he ended up in the hedge is perhaps something that may never be answered,” Coroner Brooks said adding, in what was a very dark garden, “Joe had simply become lost.”

Recording a verdict of accidental death Coroner Brooks said Mr Rice’s death was ‘entirely unintentional’ and there’d been a ‘lengthy period of time’ between him leaving home and being reported missing.

Passing his condolences to Mr Rice’s family he added it was a ‘very terrible way to have a loved one’s life come to an end’.

Policy 

The court heard that there was no policy in place concerning missing people at Ballanard Court at the time of Mr Rice's disappearance. 

However, following this incident, new procedures have been implemented across all council run complexes. 

A spokesperson for Douglas Borough Council told Manx Radio staff will now alert a resident's next of kin if welfare checks throughout the day, in the morning and afternoon, have been unsuccessful; previously there was a 24-hour wait.