Finding A Dead Body

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15-09-2017, 10:33 PM
Jez Hellewell

Quote:

Originally Posted by noel

It's good that someone so responsible as you found the body. A lot of people might have just run off in fright. So are you assuming it was a heart attack or something similar?

I'm no coroner, but it looked like a possible heart attack to me. Both fists were tightly clenched & blood on his top teeth. Maybe suggesting he'd bitten down on his lip of tongue?

The police said it's incredible how many people ignore a dead body!!
15-09-2017, 11:43 PM
Rob Furness

I've expected this to happen to me for years, and luckily I've managed to avoid it thus far. Take it easy mate, have a few jars and try and forget it. Nothing you could've done, other than what you did.
16-09-2017, 07:59 PM
CalFerguson

Wow, hope you're okay mate. I myself have never experienced anything like that & can't imagine the influence it has on you psychologically. I once saw a man lay on the pavement when out on a road run but after calling an ambulance and waiting for it, he was just really, really drunk and unable to stand!

Carrying kit as you said is essential. We do get careless, especially on our training patches that we know so well, but it's always vital to carry extra clothing and a phone, I think.
16-09-2017, 09:03 PM
Mossdog

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jez Hellewell

I'm no coroner, but it looked like a possible heart attack to me. Both fists were tightly clenched & blood on his top teeth. Maybe suggesting he'd bitten down on his lip of tongue?

The police said it's incredible how many people ignore a dead body!!

Really sorry to hear that you've had that awful experience Jez.It is a massive shock when something so unexpected and so tragic crashes into our normal and day-to-day life experiences. It understandably rocks our sense of security in the normality of things. While living in Namibia, I once came across (first at the scene) a car crash on a lonely bush road where the parents of two children where fatally killed and their two children very injured. Fortunately I wasn't alone and we were able to contact the local services eventually. As a psychologist, I can vouch that those experiences you've been having, such as intrusive thoughts and unsettled sleep, are all very natural, healthy and happen to everyone. They're a kind of re-running/processing to try and make sense of something which isn't always easy to make sense of. It is good to talk, but sometimes having to tell and retell the experience can compound the shock. However, the best thing I believe is to also emphasis the positives in 'the story' of what happened and they are there too. Such as: you were really well equipped (phone etc) and probably the best person to have made the discovery (rather than a group of kids DoE etc. or less psychologically resilient person); you did exactly the right thing and the authorities got there; etc. It might even be comforting for the family of the person that you stayed with their kin, and didn't abandon them as the Police told you some people are minded to do. I think your deciding to run the route again the following day was not only courageous but a really positive step for your psychological wellbeing. Good on yer.
16-09-2017, 09:16 PM
Jez Hellewell

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mossdog

Really sorry to hear that you've had that awful experience Jez.It is a massive shock when something so unexpected and so tragic crashes into our normal and day-to-day life experiences. It understandably rocks our sense of security in the normality of things. While living in Namibia, I once came across (first at the scene) a car crash on a lonely bush road where the parents of two children where fatally killed and their two children very injured. Fortunately I wasn't alone and we were able to contact the local services eventually. As a psychologist, I can vouch that those experiences you've been having, such as intrusive thoughts and unsettled sleep, are all very natural, healthy and happen to everyone. They're a kind of re-running/processing to try and make sense of something which isn't always easy to make sense of. It is good to talk, but sometimes having to tell and retell the experience can compound the shock. However, the best thing I believe is to also emphasis the positives in 'the story' of what happened and they are there too. Such as: you were really well equipped (phone etc) and probably the best person to have made the discovery (rather than a group of kids DoE etc. or less psychologically resilient person); you did exactly the right thing and the authorities got there; etc. It might even be comforting for the family of the person that you stayed with their kin, and didn't abandon them as the Police told you some people are minded to do. I think your deciding to run the route again the following day was not only courageous but a really positive step for your psychological wellbeing. Good on yer.

Thanks for your kind words. I'm a pretty positive person naturally, so I'm hoping the feelings of shock & disbelief won't hang around too long! The moors have been such a cathartic place for me over the years so I see this as a minor blip. Incidentally, this week I have also been stung by a wasp & taken a bad fall, shredding my arm. Things come in 3's, so that's me done for a while.
17-09-2017, 01:03 PM
stumpy

What an awful thing to come across Jez -I can only begin to think how it must gnaw away at you and how terrible the waiting at the scene must have been. Time and running are great healers though, so let's hope it fades quickly.

It happened to a friend of mine as well. In a way his was even more disturbing, as he found a suicide victim hanging from tree on the edge of a golf course. Fortunately he is a resilient person as well.
17-09-2017, 01:18 PM
Jez Hellewell

Quote:

Originally Posted by stumpy

What an awful thing to come across Jez -I can only begin to think how it must gnaw away at you and how terrible the waiting at the scene must have been. Time and running are great healers though, so let's hope it fades quickly.

It happened to a friend of mine as well. In a way his was even more disturbing, as he found a suicide victim hanging from tree on the edge of a golf course. Fortunately he is a resilient person as well.

That must have been a truly awful sight. I can't imagine. I hope he's ok?

I've just got back from another run down the path. 2nd time now. I feel ok, although I do stop for a moment & try to take in what happened. I think it helps.
17-09-2017, 01:50 PM
stumpy

Good work on getting back out there on the same route - must be the best way to deal with it.

Yes, he's good thanks. It's a few years on now.
18-09-2017, 01:23 PM
luxinterior

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jez Hellewell

I thought long & hard about posting this, but thought it may prove useful to somebody one day.

On Sunday I parked at The Cow & Calf, in Ilkley, & headed off for a run over the moors with no particular route in mind. I ended up running to the "Shooting Lodge" on Burley Moor & headed down towards Horncliffe Well, a stretch of The Bradford Millenium Way. it's a great path & you rarely see anybody on it. Halfway down I noticed what I thought to be a dummy laid down with it's legs in a puddle. I couldn't understand why somebody would go to the effort of putting it there.I thought it was some sort of prank. As I got closer, to my absolute horror, I realised it was a dead body. Panic & fear set in but I instantly rang 999. After a few minutes explaining that the man was definitely dead & giving my location & details I waited for the ambulance & police to arrive. Unfortunately there is a house in Burley Woodhead called the Shooting Lodge, which is where the emergency services first went to before ringing me again to ascertain my exact location. It took them well over an hour to finally get to me as they had to leave their vehicles & walk to me & the body. By this time I was shivering uncontrollably from shock & cold. Luckily, long or short run, I always carry a bum bag with my phone, waterproof & gloves, all of which were needed. Anyway, they eventually arrived & walked me back to the ambulance to try & warm me up & check me over (I couldn't stop shaking for about 2 hours). The police then took me home to provide a detailed statement & they even took a Strava printout of my run!

I didn't sleep on Sunday night & was advised to go to the doctor to get checked over for shock & exposure. I spent over an hour on remote moorland with a dead body & am struggling to get the image of the poor man out of my head. The police have said it is "not suspicious" as you would expect up there.

I suppose the reason I'm sharing this is to make people aware that anything can happen out there. Be prepared & always take a phone if you're going somewhere remote.

I encoutered a dead body out running couple of years ago. I was coming up Shutlingsloe and could see some walkers gathered around a body

They were trying to do CPR on what was clearly a very dead man. I asked if there was anything I could do and they very nonchantly said "no he is dead". An air ambulance arrived and I carried on my run

It was totally bizarre. I had this incident mid run and then I could carry on as normal - still find the whole experience surreal.

Turns out the guy had had a heart attack!
18-09-2017, 05:11 PM
Jez Hellewell

Quote:

Originally Posted by luxinterior

I encoutered a dead body out running couple of years ago. I was coming up Shutlingsloe and could see some walkers gathered around a body

They were trying to do CPR on what was clearly a very dead man. I asked if there was anything I could do and they very nonchantly said "no he is dead". An air ambulance arrived and I carried on my run

It was totally bizarre. I had this incident mid run and then I could carry on as normal - still find the whole experience surreal.

Turns out the guy had had a heart attack!

Surreal is exactly the word I would use. I still can't fully process what happened. My heart still races when I picture it.

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