Family says North Yorkshire police didn't act quickly enough to find Mum who took her own life
Lucy Pearson died in September after going missing from a mental health hospital
A North Yorkshire woman says police didn't act quickly enough to find her sister - before she took her own life.
Lucy Pearson disappeared from Cross Lane mental health hospital in Scarborough in September.
She'd been admitted there after suffering with post natal depression after the birth of her second child.
"It was absolute hell"
Her sister Faye has been talking to us about what happened:
"The ward contacted the police at 3o'clock and the police didn't escalate her to a high priority case until 5 past five. So for over 2 hours there was no police presence and for us as a family we just don't understand what it takes really to be classed as a high priority missing person.
"For somebody that had four weeks prior done a significant attempt on their life, was in a psychiatric unit. It was only family and friends and it was one of my friends that actually did the Facebook post and we then found the taxi driver, the taxi driver contacted us through there and said that she'd taken my sister to a remote place and it was then police presence appeared.
"It was absolute hell and we were ringing family friends. Everyone get down there and we were all around the beach and it turns out we were looking in the completely wrong spot. I kept looking around thinking where are the police? How can she not be classed as a high priority case?
"It was quite obvious when it did get escalated, because Scarborough flooded with police. But yeah, where were they?."
"It was getting dark. It was pouring down. It was 2 hours in light that we could have found her and we'll never know at what time she did actually take her life. So for two hours that was absolute vital time for me."
What do the police say?
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said: “This was a tragic incident. Significant police and coastguard resources were deployed to search for Lucy, and very sadly her body was located in a wooded area later that night. A report has been prepared for the Coroner, who will look into the circumstances surrounding her death.”
Where to get help and support?
If you or anyone you know needs immediate help call 999
You can also call the Samaritans on 116 123
You can join Lucy's Legacy by clicking here
You can also contact MIND here