Questions over police search as Cardiff car crash victims found two days after going missing

Questions have been raised over the police search for five young people who were found in wreckage of a car crash 46 hours after they went missing.

Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, and Rafel Jeanne, 24, died in the accident while Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, remain in a critical condition in hospital, according to police.

All five were in a Volkswagen Tiguan that came off the A48(M) in Cardiff and crashed into trees in the St Mellons area of the city.

After the group were found on Monday morning, Ms Russon’s mother Anna Certowicz was particularly critical of the police response and claimed that officers told her to stop calling.

Friends of the five also claim that it was their search party that eventually found the vehicle - though police insist it was located by a force helicopter.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has now launched an investigation into the two neighbouring police forces involved in the case - Gwent and South Wales - amid allegations they did not take matters seriously.

David Ford, IOPC director, said: “After careful assessment of referrals from Gwent Police and South Wales Police, we have decided to independently investigate how police responded to the missing person reports.”

The group had been to a social club in Maesglas, Newport, on Friday night and were thought to then have travelled 40 miles to the Trecco Bay area of Porthcawl. They are then believed to have gone to the Llanedeyrn area of Cardiff. They were last seen at about 2am on Saturday.

Hundreds of members of the public took part in searches but Gwent Police did not issue a public appeal for help until 11pm on Sunday, with the car found shortly after midnight on Monday. Police now believe the crash occurred during the early hours of Saturday, although the exact time is unclear.

Friends and family have since claimed that both forces did not take the case seriously enough, despite being told members of the group had never gone missing previously.

Dal Babu, former Metropolitan Police chief superintendent who was one of the most senior Asian officers in the force, said that, while it was important to minimise speculation amid the investigation, there were notable concerns around the communication between Gwent and South Wales.

“You’ve got some complexities around this,” Mr Babu told The Independent. “You’ve got two police force areas: Gwent and South Walesa and I’m not sure how much liaison there was in the control room.”

He added: “One of the key things is whether these police forces are capable to deal with these operations. Gwent and South Wales are not even as big as some London boroughs so I'm sure they’ll be a debate about whether it could have been better if it was just in one control room.”

What did the police do first?

Mr Babu explained that establishing the level of risk is a customary first step in a missing persons investigation and would involve officers grading a case as low risk, medium risk or high risk.

All five of the crash victims were registered missing by their families having failed to return home. A report was initially made to Gwent Police on Saturday evening, with another report made to South Wales police on Sunday.

According to the College of Policing guidelines, which is followed by UK forces, high risk is where “the risk of serious harm to the subject or the public is assessed as very likely” while low risk is where “the risk of harm to the subject or the public is assessed as possible but minimal.”

Mr Babu said that, given the five young people were missing on a night out, it “wouldn’t be unreasonable” for the officers to grade the case as low risk initially, but said this would have to be reviewed consistently.

“As time progresses you become more and more concerned and you’d have to review,” Mr Babu said. “The devil would be in the detail: have they gone missing before, are they vulnerable, who were they with - for some of the young people the disappearance was very unusual.

“All of those details should have been taken into account.”

Despite concerns, Gwent Police did not issue a public appeal for help until 11pm on Sunday. By then, hundreds of family and friends had already formed a search party including Ms Certowicz, who desperately drove around South Wales to find her daughter.

The wreckage of the VW Tiguan was found shortly after midnight in a copse of trees and hidden from the view of the busy road, residential houses and the nearby garden centre.

Friends of the group have claimed that the apparent discovery of the wreckage by the public shows the lack of effort by the police force.

Mr Babu said, however, that this was not unusual due to the position of the wreckage in the trees which both officers and Ms Certowicz had driven past without finding the victims.

What happens next?

David Ford, IOPC director, said: “After careful assessment of referrals from Gwent Police and South Wales Police, we have decided to independently investigate how police responded to the missing person reports.

“We will be examining what information police had, the grading given to any risk assessments and the steps taken by police to locate the missing people prior to the Volkswagen Tiguan being found just after midnight on Monday.

“We will also consider what communication took place between the two forces and whether police action was appropriate and followed relevant policy and procedures.”

Mr Babu said the allegation that an officer told a victim’s parent to “stop calling” will certainly be part of the investigation but points to a wider issue of limited resources and experience within policing.

“Part of the problem we have with the police is we’ve had cut back on thousands of police officers and staff. We've been replacing those officers but not the staff. One of the biggest issues is a lack of experience, how they communicate with people and with loved ones. Sometimes those basic interpersonal skills are lacking.”

Gwent police dealt with 2,869 missing persons incidents in 2021, according to data obtained from a freedom of information request. Of those, 408 were assessed as high risk, 2,217 as medium, 244 as low. South Wales police said it received more than 8,000 missing person reports every year – more than 20 a day.

In a statement released through a solicitor on Tuesday afternoon, Ms Smith’s family said they would give police the “time and space” to investigate the matter.

They said: “We request that our privacy is respected and we are allowed to grieve in peace. We want to allow Gwent police and South Wales police the time and space to investigate the matter in a thorough and professional way and to enable the Independent Office for Police Conduct thereafter to come to their own conclusions.”

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hoborough of Gwent Police said: “This is an extremely sad situation, and our thoughts are with the families and friends of each of the young people involved. We will continue to support the investigation and would ask members of the public to refrain from speculation during this period.”

Assistant Chief Constable Jason Davies of South Wales Police said: “Our thoughts continue to be with the families and all those affected by this tragic incident. Specialist officers are carrying out a detailed investigation to piece together what has happened. Family liaison officers are supporting the families involved at what must be a hugely difficult time for them.”