dailypost.co.uk
Joe Hughes: Inquest of missing Anglesey teen hears friends made a desperate search for him
Rhodri Barker
THE inquest of a teenager who went missing almost three years ago heard yesterday how his friends frantically searched for him after a series of alarming phone calls.
Joe Hughes disappeared in the early hours of December 28 in 2010, after being at a party in Menai Bridge. His inquest in Llangefni heard that the 19-year-old told friends he would jump from the town’s suspension bridge.
Despite an extensive search, the body of the Dwyran teenager has never been found.
Coroner Nicola Jones said she could not be satisfied as to the circumstances of Mr Hughes’ death and recorded an open conclusion.
Witnesses said the teenager had struggled with his mental health and had made threats to jump from the bridge in the past.
The inquest heard Mr Hughes had been upset on the night of his disappearance when he was told he couldn’t go to the party, but later turned up and was described as drunk but “jolly” and “upbeat”.
Before leaving the party, Mr Hughes told friends he was going to jump off the bridge. Witnesses said Mr Hughes had been “happy” when he made the statement and was assumed to be joking.
Ella Nightingale, a friend of Mr Hughes’ who spoke at the inquest, said she was in Cardiff when the “distraught” 19-year-old called from the Menai Bridge. “He was crying on the phone and saying he was going to jump off the bridge,” she said.
Several telephone calls were then made between Mr Hughes’ friends in an attempt to find him. The inquest heard that friends quickly made their way to the bridge but found no sign of Mr Hughes despite help from emergency services.
Friend Ricky Williams said Mr Hughes had been “depressed” in the weeks before his disappearance. The inquest heard Mr Hughes had tried to admit himself to the Hergest mental health unit at Ysbyty Gwynedd but had been turned away as he was drunk at the time.
The coroner read a statement by Daniel Jones, who described hearing a “thud” from the Menai Strait on the morning in question and feared the sound could have been Mr Hughes landing in the water. However, the coroner expressed doubt as to the reliability of Mr Jones’ statement.
Witness Natalie Roberts said Mr Hughes appeared “matter-of-fact” when he phoned from the bridge and said he would jump.
“He seemed to have it in his head that this is what he was going to do,” she said.
Ellis Lane, missing persons co-ordinator for North Wales Police, said a call had been made to police at 3.18am on the day of Mr Hughes’ disappearance to report a person shouting in the vicinity of the bridge. He said the water was running “very fast” at the time.
The last call from Mr Hughes’ mobile was at 3.05am and the phone had then had an “unnatural turn-off” meaning the phone had not been turned off in the usual way but had stopped operating.
Mr Lane said CCTV images from the night in question showed an “agitated” man matching Mr Hughes’ description in Menai Bridge.
The coroner said she could not prove beyond reasonable doubt that he had intended to take his own life.