Inquest rules death of teenager who died in a river in Hale as an accident
14-year-old Luke Howe was found by Greater Manchester Police in the River Bollin during a search operation after he went missing in January
Last updated 20th Nov 2024
An inquest has ruled the death of a teenager who died in a river in Hale as an 'accident'.
Luke Howe was found by Greater Manchester Police during a search operation after he went missing in January.
Luke was last seen near his grandparents' home on Bankhall Lane on the 18th of January but soon disappeared - prompting the force to launch a major search operation to find him.
The community rallied behind Luke's family, who had set up a Facebook group to gather support to find him.
During a search of the River Bollin in Hale on the 19th of January, Luke's body was discovered, bringing an end to the search effort and leaving his family and the local community in mourning
After a two day inquest at Stockport Coroner's Court, HM Area Coroner Christopher Morris reached the conclusion of Luke's death as an 'accident': "Luke Howe was found dead in the River Bollin near Ashley Mill Lane North Trafford on 19th January 2024 having drowned.
"It is likely that Luke either entered or fell into the water the previous evening, having run away from his Grandparents' home after unlocking the front door whilst momentarily out of sight.
"A police investigation established there was no third party involvement in Luke's death, and there is no suggestion from the evidence that by running away, Luke sought to bring any harm upon himself.
"Luke is likely to have acted on impulse in the context of emotional dysregulation. Luke lived his life with a complex range of issues including a significant learning disability, Autism, ADHD and possibly OCD.
"Whilst Luke enjoyed significant periods of stability and could demonstrate insight, a feature of his presentation was impulsive and sometimes wholly unpredictable acts, embarked upon whilst seemingly oblivious to the objective risks he was running.
"It is likely that due to his underlying conditions, Luke drowned in circumstances where he either placed himself or fell into the water without any appreciation of or regard to the risks inherent in being in or near water on a cold, dark night."