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Tragic river death of ‘a lovely guy’ was brought on by drugs
Father says his son was ‘in good spirits and looking to the future’ at college
A TREE surgeon drowned in a Scottish river while out walking alone during a family holiday, an inquest heard on Tuesday. Douglas D’Arcy, of Elyne Road in Stroud Green, died from drowning after taking the party drug MDMA, a powdered form of ecstasy, while out for a walk by himself on the Isle of Arran in Scotland.
The 20-year-old man’s naked body was discovered in April by navy police a quarter of a mile away from a pile of clothes, his mobile phone and an iPod.
Investigators believe after leaving home at around 7am with a packed lunch he had walked to the river where he had taken off his clothes before possibly slipping down a rocky slope to the river.
His father, Jonathan D’Arcy, told St Pancras Coroner’s Court his son had left a note saying he was going for a “long walk” and would return in the afternoon.
By 7pm his father had grown worried and by 8.30pm he called the police.
A search that night for Douglas didn’t find him but his body was spotted just before 7am the next morning when navy boatmen saw him in the water a quarter of a mile away from where his clothes had been found.
Speaking after the inquest Mr D’Arcy said he had nothing to add to the evidence he had given in court except to say his son “was a lovely guy”.
While standing in the witness box he tearfully recounted the events of the tragic holiday, describing how he and Douglas had driven up to Arran together and chatted about what car he wanted to buy.
Mr D’Arcy said: “We had dinner together, spaghetti bolognaise, a few glasses of wine and some music.
“He seemed in good spirits and was looking to the future. He’d applied for another course at Hackney College.”
He said he had never known of his son to take drugs, although he had been to a couple of raves, and that he was “very health conscious” about his diet.
“I’d always said don’t take anything because you don’t know what’s in it – I suspect that’s what happened in this case,” he said.
A police report by Colin Carey, read out by the coroner, said: “At about 7pm the deceased’s father tried to call his son fearing he may be struggling home with a leg injury.
“He then contacted the police, having searched the area without success. The Arran rescue team were dispatched and at 1am his mobile phone and iPod were found.
“At 2.47am more clothing was found. At 6.30am the navy spotted a body in the water about a quarter of a mile away from where the clothes were found.”
It was thought he had brought the drugs up from London.
A post mortem showed he had scratches on his body caused, it was believed, by walking through undergrowth naked while intoxicated with alcohol and MDMA.
His body was found at the end of a steep grainy slope that ran into a rocky area and water.
Coroner Gail Elliman recorded a verdict of accidental death. |
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