Oxford student's death in lake ruled suicide at inquest

Christ Church first year Colin Dowling, 19, sent his friend a Snapchat message shortly after 11pm on February 22 telling her of his intention to end his life.

The fellow student did not see the message until around 11.30pm, when she raised the alarm and, together with friends, called 999.

However, the South Central Ambulance Service call handler erroneously sent emergency services to Folly Bridge, despite being told by Mr Dowling’s friends that his message said he was at Hinksey Park.

An ambulance crew and police officers arrived shortly before 11.50pm and searched the river to no avail.

Hinksey Lake Picture: Ed Nix

It was only when constables went to Christ Church and spoke to Mr Dowling’s friends they realised they were searching the wrong area. A map on social media app Snapchat showed the teen's phone had last been ‘seen’ in the Hinksey Park area.

Armed police officers were first to see Mr Dowling’s body in Hinksey lake at around 12.30am. Firefighters retrieved the teenager’s body from the water while paramedics and ambulance technicians discussed their plan.

Tests showed he had no pulse, his pupils were non-responsive and an electrocardiogram or ECG showed his heart had stopped.

The paramedics had already reviewed national ambulance guidelines on drowning, which stated that patients who had been submerged for up to 10 minutes had a ‘high chance’ of survival, those submerged for more than 25 minutes were likely to have a ‘poor outcome’ and, after an hour of submersion, the focus would generally switch from ‘rescue to recovery’.

‘Team lead’ paramedic Tom Dudzinski, having reviewed the situation with fellow ambulance crew and checked with the control room exactly when the 999 call was made, decided not to begin life saving attempts.

Mr Dowling was pronounced dead at around 12.55am. A pathologist later gave his cause of death as drowning.

Folly Bridge Picture: Oxford Mail (Image: Oxford Mail)

Mark Ainsworth-Smith, a consultant paramedic with South Central Ambulance Service, told the inquest that ‘on the balance of probabilities’ he did not believe Mr Dowling would have survived his immersion in the lake. 

But he acknowledged that, notwithstanding the national guidance, life-saving attempts ‘would have afforded the family the knowledge that everything possible was done’.

The inquest heard that two ‘suicide’ notes had been left in Mr Dowling’s college room. He had struggled with mental health difficulties and, in January, was admitted to the John Radcliffe Hospital after an overdose of medication.

Senior coroner Darren Salter recorded a conclusion of suicide. He is expected to write to South Central Ambulance Service raising concerns, echoed in an internal NHS review, that the call-handler ‘could and should have plotted the address differently and more accurately based on the information’.

“It’s possible he might have survived if he had been discovered earlier and sooner after he’d gone into the water, but I can’t say on the evidence here it’s likely the outcome would have been different,” Mr Salter said.

The coroner also said he would write to the Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee, which publishes the immersion guidelines.

He questioned whether the guidelines properly covered the situation in Mr Dowling’s case, where a report was made that someone had expressed an intention to enter the water but had not been seen doing so.

The Chelmsford teenager's grandfather, Charles Meacock, observed the inquest alongside Christ Church college chaplain Clare Hayns.

Mr Meacock and his wife, who took Colin and his siblings in 2017 after the tragic death of their mother from cancer, described their grandson as a hard worker and ‘one of the good guys’.

“A wonderful person, he was exceptionally kind and devastatingly funny and such great company,” they said, adding that he would be loved and missed forever.

In statements summarised by the coroner, Mr Dowling’s college friends described the teenager as charismatic and full of life.

For 24/7 support, contact the Samaritans by calling 116 123 for free or visit samaritans.org. The NHS's round-the-clock mental health line can be contacted by calling 111. In an emergency, call 999.