Bodies found in Canterbury lake

After a long uphill trudge through ankle deep mud, I reached the crest of the hill.  Before me lay a flat area, blanketed by a light dusting of fresh snow.  It was eerily quiet, save for the sound of the freezing wind that was driving the still falling snow into my face.  100 yards up head lay the beginning of the woods.  That is where the bodies had been found.  In a small lake, just outside Canterbury.  Both the lads had been found in the water.

The day had started for me like any other.  Kids off to school.  Coffee and breakfast.  I had heard late the night before that a body had been found in a local lake, but, at this time, details were sparse.  Soon, breakfast was forgotten.  A second body had been found and the police were treating both deaths as 'suspicious'.

Appeal for missing boy

I found the police RV point easily enough.  Next to a primary school and as it transpired, only a few hundred yards from the site of the incident.  There was no press officer on site and the cops were not giving any details out.  There were already a few journos there and one of the MSM types had been speaking to his office and got the details.  Briefly they were as follows - Two bodies, both male, both found in pond, one man in custody on suspicion of murder.  There were posters attached to lamp posts in the surrounding area asking for info on a 17 year old boy who was missing.

There was nothing to photograph at the RV point, apart from some shots of the police vehicles, and the comings and goings of the white suited forensic officers.  Being local, I knew there was another way to the scene but it meant a long trek over a military training area. That is where I headed.

I find it hard on jobs where there has been a death.   Luckily it doesn't happen often.  I worked on a house fire a few months ago where three people died (a mother and two of her kids).   I photographed the burned out front of the house, and the blackened shell of the bedroom where the deaths had occurred. There was an horrible feeling of sadness,  even though I had no connection to the deceased.

This time however, I felt no sadness.  I had the usual questions going round in my head, best shot, light, how to dodge the police cordon if there was one, camera settings etc.

PCSO mans the cordon

So, back to my uphill trek.  I was soon onto a path which led through the woods and on to the lake.  There was no sign of a police cordon.  This is a military training area, but it is open to the public.  The path was rutted with deep tyre tracks, filled with water, mud and snow.  As I neared the lake area, my hopes of sneaking an easy, clear shot were dashed.  Up ahead stood a PCSO manning a cordon tape.  Give him his due, PCSO or not, he was not giving away any details of the events.  Behind him, in the distance I could see some activity. Divers were moving bits of kit around.  There are also forensic people and other cops.  OK, so I was not getting near the scene from here, but, this is in the woods.  There must be a way to sneak past the cops, even if it meant crawling through the bushes.  I knew I would not get close up, but perhaps I could get a shot of the lake from a distance on a long lens.  I was still unperturbed by the fact it was the scene of two deaths.

I made my way back down the track, and as soon as the PCSO gave up watching my retreating figure, I headed off the track and into the bushes.  Each bush I disturbed sent freezing cold snow cascading down my neck.  I found another track, well away from the PCSO and his cordon tape.  As I rounded a bend on this track my hopes were again dashed.  Another PCSO and another cordon tape.  By now I was soaked to the skin and freezing.  My fingers were so cold I could barely keep them still enough to change the settings on my cameras.  I was heading down to the main track when I heard the engine.  An army land rover was
heading for the first cordon I had encountered.

Army land rover and divers

The land rover was behind the cordon as I approached the tape.  The divers were loading some gear on board.  I had thought perhaps the land rover had been called to move the second body such was the nature of the terrain.  It was not to be.  I took some shots of the scene and decided to call it a day.  The cops had the scene well guarded and there was no way I could find to get past it.

I had some decent shots, but nothing out of the ordinary.  I made my way back down the track.  I was bursting for a pee.  I could hear an engine so I decided to nip into the bushes and do what had to be done.  As I was zipping up, something caught my eye.  Through the bushes I could make out something white.  I forced my way through the gorse and of in the distance I could see a white forensic tent.  The kind the police erect over the scene of a body.

I took several shots on a long lens.  As I stood looking at the shots on the camera, the sadness came.  The enormity of events caught up with me.  Two families had lost their sons.  Lives had been changed for ever. It was the sight of the forensic tent.  It seemed to make things real.  How the emergency services or photographers/journos in war zones deal with death on a regular basis is beyond me.  I suppose they see it on such a regular basis they become hardened to it over time?

There were two arrests regarding this case.  The post mortem revealed both young men (17 and 24) had met their death by drowning.  The man who was being held on suspicion of murder was released without charge.  The second man who was arrested on suspicion of supplying a controlled substance, was released on bail.

The night the boys were last seen alive was freezing cold.  It is easy to draw the conclusion that they went into the water as a result of taking drugs.  The police are awaiting toxicology test results, so time will tell if drugs were involved.

Next for me is a trip to Leicester on Saturday.  The EDL are protesting about the lenient sentencing given to the gang of Asian girls who attacked a young white girl.  This is a clear case of 'if it goes tits up, the one to blame is the judge who imposed the sentence'.