Original subtitles

Police Scotland's Highlands and Islands division is Britain's

biggest beat.

The geographical scope of where we police is phenomenal.

12,000 square miles of glens, islands, deep lochs

and towering mountains.

We do have some of the most dangerous terrain.

Where the hell is he? Where is he?

Even if you were a very good swimmer,

you're not coming out of there.

Patrolling this vast, wild landscape...

There is some vehicles out there, but I don't think

they're going to be...

..and answering emergency calls in the wilderness...

..the Highland cops go above and beyond to combat crime...

Clearly quite a bit of blood.

Suspicious death. Same as you would get anywhere else.

..and keep people safe.

Leave me alone!

We will attend to everybody's worst day.

We need to try and make sure you're OK.

Here, traditional rural policing...

We've had a report of a satellite-tagged golden eagle

that's gone offline.

It shouts out to me that it's been killed.

..meets state-of-the-art crime fighting.

Top drawer - a lot of rocks and hash.

This is a cocaine wipe. If it turns blue then it is cocaine.

This series goes inside the UK's most unique police force...

One minute you're dealing with an avalanche... Come on.

..and the next, you've got a lively Lab.

..to find out what it takes to patrol the beat...

It is a family. You are working with your brothers and sisters.

..and keep the peace...

Police!

..in some of the most beautiful and challenging places in Britain.

Shall we?

Aye, let's rock.

In Aviemore, in the heart of the Cairngorms,

Britain's highest mountain range,

PCs Ross and Jamie are off on patrol in a brand-new set of wheels.

We lost our Land Rover, unfortunately, due to a bit too much

mileage on it now.

Due to old age.

So we have this new beast.

This is Britain's biggest National Park, the Cairngorms.

So we've got all weathers.

In the summer it can be four seasons in one day.

In the wintertime, obviously that brings its challenges.

When there's torrential rain,

the area that we live in, work in,

it's got a lot of rivers, a lot of lochs.

A lot of them do burst their banks.

It's mid-November and Aviemore has been battered by storms.

Jamie and Ross need to assess the damage in case anyone needs help.

Just due to all the storms, we're just going to try and check

all the areas where the rivers frequently burst their banks.

Hopefully we can get through the water. But if the water is that bad,

we might not even be able to get through it.

It'd be a bit embarrassing if we need to get rescued ourselves.

Oh.

We'll get through that.

Get life jackets on.

Engage flotation mode.

Flooding is on the increase across the Highlands.

Riverside properties like this campsite are especially vulnerable.

The last major storm,

this whole site got flooded, so they had to evacuate.

There was a little bit of resistance. They didn't think

it was going to flood cos it hadn't flooded in years.

It's higher than yesterday. Oh, aye.

Ah, for sure.

I wonder if it will have spilled on the road

going towards Coylum, then.

But before Jamie and Ross can check the next place at risk of flooding,

an urgent call comes in.

RADIO BEEPS

Go ahead.

A bothy is a remote hut used by hill walkers

and sometimes people who want to disappear.

There's a lot of missing people that come here.

We've got people that are tourists, that are maybe just going for a hike

up in the mountains.

They get themselves into trouble and go missing.

We've got people that are long-term missing, people that have been here,

gone for a walk, and we've just never found them

and there's been no trace of them ever since.

The location of these bothies is on Jamie and Ross's patch,

but it's miles into the wilderness.

They're very remote locations.

Sarge said that she's looked at one of the bothies, and it does look

like we might be able to get to it by vehicle.

As far as we know, he doesn't have a car or drives. He's going to have to

have walked a fair distance to get to them anyway.

Both of them are on the other side of a river.

So we don't know what state the river's been in

in terms of the floods.

But then, the time we get there, it will probably be... Dark.

..dark.

And as Jamie and Ross head towards the bothies, more information

about the missing person comes in from control.

He's a male from down Glasgow way.

He's been classed as a high risk.

He suffers from depression and he is on medication for this.

Apparently he used to come walking up here with his dad, and his dad's

ashes are scattered near one of the bothies, and he's left

a suicide note saying that he wants his ashes to be scattered

up here as well.

But then another fact comes to light that further raises the stakes.

He was due to be sentenced in court today for five sexual offences.

I'm assuming there's a warrant for his arrest.

Warrant issued 23/01.

This search is no longer a missing person case -

it's an urgent manhunt.

The question is, with the landscape flooded, will Jamie and Ross be able

to reach the place where the suspect may be hiding out?

This loch's nowhere near normally as big as this.

Nah. According to this as well, it's literally just classed

as the River Spey, but obviously like a wider part of it.

But that looks like a loch.

Oh...

I don't think we're going to be able to cross where...

You can see the fence posts on the left. Look.

This is not a water area.

This is just fields, or it should just be fields.

Yeah. The weather looks brutal that way, by the way.

We just got a call from the control room.

There are four suspects in the Inverness High Street

and they are wanted for shoplifting.

You know, different crimes.

60 miles north, PCs Mo Sarwar and Nathan Rayner are patrolling

a very different kind of beat -

Inverness city centre.

They are on the hunt for a notorious gang of local lawbreakers.

Probably not gone very far, but maybe if...

Maybe you could get to somebody's house. Yeah.

It's not them. That's just a guy walking home.

The four people they are looking for

all have previous records.

One is on bail and under a curfew.

Another has a warrant out for her arrest.

If we want to open the door, we could just force entry.

And we'll probably end up getting all four of them at once.

That's our city centre unit.

How you doing? Any joy, no?

Oh, nice one. We'll go and ditch the car, then, and we'll...

Multiple units have been looking for the gang.

They have now been tracked down to a flat nearby.

This address is known to Mo from a previous visit that gave

cause for concern.

OK, guys, for safety point of view,

last time when we went over there,

see when you enter his room, he has a knife in his radiator.

So we just need to be careful about that, you know what I mean?

In case he's got a knife, so...

And we know that they have weapons in the house.

I'm talking about knives or like machete and stuff like that.

So we need to be more kind of extra focus,

more prepared for anything unexpected.

We don't know, like, how hostile these people

are going to be when they're going to open the door and how many people

are going to be inside there, you know, how many people

is going to have the weapons in their hand or not.

KNOCKS ON DOOR

KNOCKS ON DOOR

What the BLEEP do you want?

We need to speak to you.

SHOUTING BEHIND DOOR

He's on a curfew. We need to see him.

I don't give a BLEEP. Aye? I don't give a BLEEP...

Having found the suspects, the police now have to arrest them.

Nathan calls for backup from a specialist unit

trained to force entry.

How you doing?

It might not do any harm if you came down here with a key.

We're not getting in at the door and it's starting to get a bit...

Until backup arrives,

the tactic is to keep the suspects talking.

Open the door.

Open the door.

Either open the door or the door comes in.

I think he's barricading it.

So they're barricading the door.

What are you doing?

Then one officer outside spots something at the window of the flat

and raises the alarm.

Nah. Oh, no.

We can't all go.

THEY CONFER

So what happened, see...

You can see that they used a bedsheet to tie the bedsheets up,

to climb down from that window from the top.

Look, that's... Oh, aye.

Just watch there, cos it stinks of booze.

I think they've been chucking bottles out. Yeah.

That's the bedsheet they've used.

At least one of the suspects has escaped.

But with the police now watching the window, the others are trapped.

They have a choice -

they can open the door or the police will break it down.

We've got officers surrounding the property now,

and we're just waiting to assess the best way to force entry.

Obviously, the longer it goes on, the more time they've got to

potentially barricade it or access weapons or anything like that.

So we'll be going for quite a robust entry at this stage, I think.

The Operational Support Unit - cops trained to break down doors -

have now arrived, along with a dog handler and his large Alsatian.

For Mo, who is two years into his service,

being part of such a big operation is a new experience.

Open the door!

DOG BARKS

Open the door.

The whole situation was, like, a bit tense for me because that's

the first time in my police career I have to go through that situation.

It was coordination of the different colleagues for us, response cops,

the unit community cops, the dog unit.

That's the first time I saw them, how they worked together as a team.

Police with dog. Open the door.

Yes, just open it now.

Just open the door. Now!

I would suggest you move back from the door.

Move back from the door. We will no'.

OK, fair enough.

With the occupants still refusing to cooperate, there's no choice

but to break down the door and try to arrest the suspects

before anyone gets hurt.

BANGING

BLEEP move, then.

You see the BLEEP dog. Get the BLEEP away from the door.

SHOUTING INSIDE

It finally gives way.

METAL CLANGS

But one of the suspects is still trying to block the entrance.

SHOUTING

The safest way to stop him is with an incapacitant spray

that temporarily blinds him.

SHOUTING AND COMMOTION

OCCUPANTS SHOUT

BLEEP.

Almost everyone in there has been wanted in some capacity, either

wanted on warrant, wanted for outstanding crimes.

BLEEP. I can't see.

You could see, though.

So that's obviously the reason that they've not wanted

us in initially.

But the house is now empty.

Everyone's away to the station and that'll be them away

for the weekend, hopefully.

This is breathing a sigh of relief. You know what I mean, like,

we have achieved our targets that we went for.

Now the flat has been cleared, Mo and the team can take their time

checking it for evidence.

The story it tells is far from reassuring.

There's a big kitchen knife just sitting there beside the telly.

It's going to take a few seconds just to pick up that knife

and, you know, in the heat of the moment, use on us.

And in another room, the remains of one suspect's escape plan.

See, so he tied up all this bedsheet with the sofa and, you know,

obviously, he then put it over there.

They climbed down from the window, but obviously these are so thin,

maybe can't get all of his weight.

And that's why they're just torn apart in the middle.

And he must have fallen down from that height.

Well, I don't think much of his knots on it either, to be honest.

Yeah.

That's like a Great Escape.

Further searching uncovers more evidence of criminality.

They have drugs in the flat, so I think that's why they're not

opening the door for us. We give them plenty of chance

to open the door so we don't need to put the door in.

But they refused that.

With four criminals behind bars tonight, the city is that bit safer

for everyone else.

It's a good outcome. Definitely.

If you could see the Google map of what was supposed

to be there and what's actually there, even out to the left as well,

it's crazy out there.

Far out in the flooded wilderness, PCs Ross and Jamie are hunting

for a man accused of sexual offences who could be suicidal.

He may be hiding in a bothy he used to visit with his father -

remote, hard to find and cut off from the world.

I've never been as far as we're going.

We've lost signal on our radios.

We have certain black zones that do not have any mobile

reception, and they don't have any radio reception.

That's obviously a concern, that we're out of radio contact

with our control, and if we were to need further assistance or units,

it would be tricky to be able to actually get a signal to then call

up and access that additional unit.

Hopefully, we won't need rescued. Yeah, it's us and us alone.

Go, go. Come on.

You'll lose your friends.

We're obviously mindful that that person does not

want to be found.

Are they saying that they're going to commit suicide in the hope

that the authorities will stop looking for them?

Or are they going to be a risk factor to us?

Because, obviously, if we do locate that person and they're just laying

low and hiding from the authorities, are they going to then, you know,

realising that they've been caught, start fighting with us

because they know that the certainty is once we find them and arrest

them, they'll be going to jail?

Hang on a second. Hang on a second.

Is that it over there?

See where I'm shining the light, look.

There's a building or something.

Can you see that?

Oh, aye. Yeah, I think that's where we're headed.

Says the road's closed, though. What's that all about, though?

Why is the road closed?

Is that a gate? Ah, sh...

It's not locked or anything, is it?

Oh, yuck.

Yeah, padlocked.

I would say that that's our location

going by the What3words location.

But...

I don't see...

There's no way of getting round that road closed.

Which means we're not going to get to the other location either,

cos the other location's on the other side of the river.

So there's no way across in that river.

I can't even check what's the way from here cos there's no signal.

There's a vehicle coming behind us.

Going by the way he's flying round the road, I'm going to say...

He'll be an estate worker. ..he's an estate worker.

Evening.

We have a high-risk missing person from down Central Belt way.

Um, his dad used to own...

Is it Melgarve...? Melgarve Cottage.

Which we think is just along there.

But there's also Melgarve Bothy - is that...?

He's someone from down south, kind of Glasgow way.

Aye, so we were supposed to go and check this cottage

in case he's there.

RADIO CHATTER

So, yeah, if we could check, just check the cottage.

I don't suppose you've seen anyone in the area that's, uh...

Are you one of the gamekeepers or ghillies?

Oh... God, it's wild all of a sudden.

Thank BLEEP he's come along and opened this gate.

So there's a place, there's a building on...

Just ahead.

The information was that this person was planning on suicide.

So we're always aware of our safety as well, because potentially,

how are they planning on doing that?

The bothy, you said?

The bothy, which is what I was pointing the torch at, I would say.

But this is the house, no?

The cottage? Not sure.

It's a long way off from civilisation, shall we say.

There's nobody in there.

Is there an up...upstairs as well?

Jamie, did you check...? Did you check through there, yeah?

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

OK.

RADIO CHATTER

There's no sign that anyone has been in the cottage.

But it's not the only property here,

and it's not clear which one the man might have been aiming for.

Aye, the other one down there, that's rented by Forbes Meek.

Aye, Melgarve Cottage. Does that ring any bells?

Aye, well, it's got to be one of the two. Right.

And that's down there? Yeah, that's Melgarve.

Oh.

Your destination is on the right.

Is that more potential bothies?

Padlocked up, is it?

This is as well.

They're all padlocked.

RADIO CHATTER

I mean, he could have gone somewhere else.

All the properties seem clear,

but Jamie and Ross also need to search the surroundings...

..just in case.

You're always mindful to keep an awareness of not just the location

that you've been given, but the surrounding area

that they might have, you know, decided to end their life in.

With the search complete and phone coverage back, Ross calls

the station with an update.

We've checked it.

There's no sign.

The way the water is down here, it's crazy.

I've never seen flooding like it. But he's not here.

And you're not getting out here if you don't have a vehicle.

Not a chance.

You're so far away from anything.

So far in the wilderness.

He's not going to be here.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Bye. Bye-bye.

My God, I can't feel my fingers.

Searching for missing people in the Highlands

is one of the force's most challenging jobs.

In this huge, unpopulated landscape,

it's all too easy to disappear.

We still have quite a few long-term missing persons,

where, realistically, it's more of a body recovery.

Um, that might happen in the future, but some people might remain

missing, unfortunately, forever.

80 miles south-west of Aviemore,

Glencoe is one of the UK's most spectacular landscapes

and a tourist hot spot that draws millions

of visitors every year.

Patrolling this unique beat today is PC Stephen Cooper.

He's on his way to investigate a concerning call.

One of the National Trust for Scotland staff have phoned us

to report a camper van that's been parked in a car park

on the estate for about seven days.

They reckon... They're concerned it's been abandoned and there

might be someone needing help or something.

So I'm just going to go check it out and see what's in it.

Much of Glencoe is owned and managed by the National Trust for Scotland.

It's a big job -

over two million vehicles pass through this iconic place each year.

Since Covid, the camper van has become a very, very popular thing

and there's more and more of them coming to the Highlands of Scotland

to visit. When they're used correctly and driven well,

I have absolutely no issues with them whatsoever.

When they're driven to places where they shouldn't be, driven poorly,

then they are the bane of my life in Glencoe.

It's a big issue we've got.

The car park that this camper van is in is routinely full

of camper vans this time of year.

And the whole area in general is just full of camper vans.

It's not unusual for that type of vehicle to be here.

It is unusual for it to be here for seven days, though.

It's unusual for somebody to dump a caravan, I would say.

More likely it's either broken down or if you want to go

to extremes, potentially somebody that's gone out for a walk and not

come back and is lost on the hills.

Unless it's this one here.

The camper van's licence plate and description don't match

any stolen vehicles or people reported missing.

So Stephen has to start from scratch to try and work out why

it could have been abandoned.

If I find an abandoned camper van, depending on where it was parked,

I could be fairly concerned.

If it's parked anywhere near mountains, you'd be worried

that there was someone lost up a mountain.

So if it was parked next to open water, you could be potentially

concerned that somebody was lost out in the open water.

Everywhere in Glencoe section has accessibility to mountains,

open water, outdoor pursuits.

You could be reasonably concerned if there was something abandoned

for a few days.

Can't see anything through the front.

The van has no obvious damage, such as a flat tyre, and there's no sign

of anyone inside.

A bit odd?

Yes, it's very odd.

I'm seeing there's food and stuff still inside it.

But not much else.

It's strange for it to be here for seven days, and for there not

to be a note on it, or for us not to have been notified or...

Yeah, something like that if it is broken down.

But it's also strange for it to be there for seven days.

And if it's someone missing on the hill, we would not be aware

of it as well.

With no other leads, Stephen drives to a spot where he can get

a phone signal to ring the camper van hire company.

Hi, there. Yeah, my name is Stephen Cooper.

I'm a police officer based in Glencoe in Scotland.

Um, we've had a report of one of your camper vans being abandoned

in our area for possibly a week,

and we're just looking to establish,

A, if everyone's OK and, B, why it's there.

But at first, the hire company seem a little confused.

I'm a police officer, and I'm looking to confirm if one

of your camper vans is in our area for a reason or not.

It's abandoned in a lay-by and it has been for a week

and I'm just looking to make sure why...

Well, we're looking to find out why it's there, basically.

So I...

No, I haven't got that information at all.

All I've got is the registration of your camper van.

You must have a list of the registrations

of all your camper vans, though, surely.

So can you transfer me on to somebody else, then, or...?

Yeah, can you make sure that...?

Can you make sure it's done really quickly for me?

We're obviously needing to deal with this quite urgently in case

there's somebody in need of assistance.

Brilliant. Thank you very much.

Just off the phone to the camper van company, who didn't seem

to have very much knowledge of it, but they seemed to be escalating it

to another department that hopefully will have some knowledge of it.

I've told them it's potentially urgent, so hopefully

they'll phone me back quite quickly and let me know what the story is.

Hopefully it's nothing and it's just broken down.

But if it isn't, we need to start moving quickly and figuring out

where these people are.

If the rental company can't explain why the van is here,

Stephen will have to move fast.

The driver and any passengers will be classed as missing.

And in this huge landscape, they could be anywhere.

Highland roads like this one can make for challenging driving.

80 miles north of Glencoe, just outside Inverness,

traffic cops Calum MacAuley and Donny Stevenson are on patrol

and on their way to an incident.

Just confirm it's the A82 at Dochgarroch.

Yeah, that's received. You can mark us en route.

There's a report of a one-vehicle RTC on the A82 near Dochgarroch,

which is just south of Inverness towards Loch Ness.

The A82 is one of the trunk roads in the Highlands.

It's a main route between Inverness and Fort William, so it's quite

popular with tourists at this time of year.

I'm a born and bred Highlander.

My accent tends to maybe give that away.

It's a really good place to live.

We have a high volume of visitors that come to the area, so we want

people to take responsibility for making sure that they understand

how our roads work...

Aye, off your phone.

Absolute...

..and what driving in Scotland is like.

It is very different to travelling in the rest of the world.

With RTCs, you don't really know what you're always getting

from what's reported.

Generally speaking, the amount of calls that we get

about it can sometimes be an indicator, but we'll go down,

we'll see, see what's in it and hopefully nobody's injured.

Ouch.

Hire car. Yeah.

It looks like there's only one vehicle involved, and one person -

the driver - who's being treated by paramedics.

How is this lady? She's all right.

Yeah. She's got some neck pain.

The driver has only suffered minor injuries, but she's at a loss

to say why she crashed.

So the question for Donny and Calum to answer is, how did the car

end up on its side?

Sometimes when we arrive at a scene, it can be difficult to establish

exactly what has happened.

We carried out a breath test with the driver - that was clear,

so that wasn't a factor.

There's a lot of people who are doing their best to try

and help, but it sometimes takes for the scene to quieten down

for us to be able to see the evidence that's been left.

Traffic is backing up on this busy main road, but before they can move

the car, Donny and Calum need to work out what happened

and decide if the driver should be charged with an offence.

Did you see what happened at all? You saw the whole thing?

All right.

OK.

Any collision, the dynamics of it are always unique.

You get many that are similar, but it's rare to get two

that are exactly the same.

I think it was mentioned she might have hit a pothole before

the collision. And just looking at the tyre,

it's got a bulge out the side walls.

It's important that we investigate any incident

that we attend properly.

You can actually see there, see just behind where the

police vehicle is parked. I think she's just kind of...

..run a bit too narrow on the corridor.

We took a bit of time.

We were able to see that there was a mark on the grass verge

that was consistent about the width of a tyre.

See that kind of post that's on the...in the gutter?

I think that's what's caused the lump.

She's tried to correct it and she's collided with this post.

After a bit of deduction, it now looks clear that the driver

misjudged the bend, hit the grass verge, collided with a post,

and the impact flipped her car.

If a vehicle ever kind of rolls, it's quite often the case

that it's connected with something solid and that's been the result,

or that's what's caused it to land in the position that it's in.

So the paramedics, they're quite content that her injuries aren't

serious or life-threatening.

She may have a broken bone, but we're quite content that it's not

anything that's going to be life-threatening.

So that's good news, all things considered.

Cars can be replaced but people... people can't be, so...

Satisfied they've identified the cause of the crash,

Calum and Donny can reassure the driver that, in their opinion,

this has been an accident.

It could have been a lot worse.

I guess. I'm just really embarrassed.

Yeah.

I think... I think just looking at it, you've maybe

been a wee bit unlucky just where you've hit the verge and there's two

posts which are further out. If they were a wee bit further in,

the car may have just continued along and stayed upright.

She was a visitor to Scotland and was probably slightly

unfamiliar with travelling

what would be on the wrong side of the road for her,

the left side of the road for us.

That was something that was taking some getting used to

for her, particularly on narrow roads.

Thankfully she wasn't hurt.

Thankfully there was nobody else involved and everybody was able

to go home safely after the collision had happened.

As a precaution, the driver will be taken to hospital

for further checks.

With their investigation complete, Calum and Donny can reopen the road

and get the traffic on this busy route moving again.

In Glencoe, Stephen is trying to solve the mystery

of an abandoned camper van.

He's worried the owners could be lost in the hills and need help.

Contacting the hire company has so far drawn a blank,

but he may have a new lead.

I've tried phoning them, I've tried messaging them online,

and they're not really very helpful at the moment.

So I've just spotted that another one of their vans has just gone

past, so I'm just going to go and stop it and see if they've got any

phone numbers that we can use

to contact them more directly, hopefully.

Hi there. It's nothing to worry about, it's OK.

Do you have any contact numbers for your campers?

Like a phone number or anything like that?

I've got a contract.

07408...

So we now have a mobile phone number and an email address.

RINGING TONE

MAN ANSWERS

Hi, my name is Stephen Cooper.

I'm phoning from the police in Glencoe. Yes.

We have come across one of your camper vans that's been reported

to us as possibly abandoned in a lay-by. Yeah.

Um, and we're looking to try and figure out why it's there

and make sure that the occupants are all right.

Are you able to help me with that? Yeah.

Cheers. Bye-bye.

The phone number that we got from the other camper van worked

first time, and it seems my inquiry had just reached the guy

at the other end of the phone, and he's confirmed that the camper

van has been abandoned by the people that rented it there for some

reason, and they have flown back to France and taken

the keys with them.

And because of that, they weren't able to recover it.

So unfortunately, it will stay there until the keys come back

from France and then they'll take it away. But...

..essentially it's, um, good news in that there's nobody stuck

on the hills.

Camper van doesn't seem to be broken down.

It seems that the people that hired it just didn't like it,

and have decided that they didn't want to drive it any more

and have left it there.

So where the van's abandoned, there is literally nothing.

Like, there's a couple...

There's a farmhouse and a small cottage and that's it.

There's no bus stop.

There's no phone.

Phone reception is poor.

So to abandon it there is crazy.

Unless they've got some other way of getting from there to the airport

already arranged, but it seems unlikely.

So, yeah, it's bizarre.

Mystery solved.

Stephen can update the local man who first called it in.

For some reason, they've just abandoned it there,

flown back to France and taken the keys with them,

and they can't recover it until they get the keys back from France.

Nice touch. Yeah.

Like you do.

Yeah, I know, it's bizarre.

I just have no idea. All right. Oh, well.

So it'll probably be there for another week or so anyway.

Oh, that's fine. It's all right. But you don't really notice, do you?

Cos I've driven past it a few times. You don't.

And all of a sudden you think, "Crikey, I hope he's not

"sitting in a ditch somewhere." Yeah.

When you can pick up an issue during a shift and finish it

during that shift, it is satisfying.

Especially if you've had to do a bit of digging,

if you've had to get on the phone to various different people,

had to make unusual lines of inquiry to try and establish

what's going on, it's satisfying.

I can't remember the last time I was on holiday.

But I can categorically say I have never gone on holiday

in a camper van and I don't plan to at the moment.

PHONE RINGS Hello, you're through to police.

Do you have the daughter's details?

Control from 5-0 Delta.

I don't like being Delta.

In the Highlands, people don't just go missing in the mountains.

In Inverness city centre,

PCs Kevin Simpson and Kari McTaggart are on shift,

looking for a woman who has been reported missing

and at risk by her mother.

So there has been a concern reported, uh, via the Met Police

with regards to an adult daughter who's contacted her mum stating

that she felt suicidal.

So at the moment we're having a general patrol,

but we're going to check the bus stops, the train station as well

as some of the higher buildings like the multistorey car parks

and just carry out patrols to see if we can spot anyone.

Any BTP listening on this channel from 5-0 Delta?

A call like that comes in as a concern-for-person call.

It could be that it's a concern for a person with immediate risk

attached, in a sense of they have immediate intentions

to either go and harm themselves or someone else.

There's concerns raised attached to her mental health

and her mental wellbeing.

The original call came via police in England.

It's thought the woman had travelled to Inverness recently,

so the first place to search is the station.

You want to check the ladies and I'll walk up the stance and past BTP

and see if there's anyone there? Lovely, can't wait.

We've had concerns for a lassie.

We've not got too much except that she's not from Inverness,

so she might be getting public transport and whatnot.

She's about 30 to mid-30s, um, and wearing a blue jacket,

carrying a lot of carrier bags, quite a lot today.

I take it that doesn't ring a bell for anyone.

You never make assumptions about anything when you go into it.

So it can be that she's disengaged from her family.

Or it could be that, you know, her mum's not heard

from her in a good amount of time so then she's becoming concerned.

A deterioration in mental health can mean that people

become disengaged with family.

She'd be 30, mid-30s.

A blue jacket, like outer-coat as well as carrying a lot of carrier

bags. I think the blue jacket and a lot of carrier bags stand out.

It might be an ungainly amount.

None of the station staff remember seeing the woman,

so Kev and Kari can move on.

The city's CCTV cameras are also being checked, which helps

to narrow down the search.

They've got Rose Street cameras pointing at Rose Street,

so we don't need to go there. Cool.

We will check the bus station and then just check town.

OK.

On a rainy weeknight, Inverness city centre is quiet, but even so,

it's a large area for two cops to search,

and the woman could be anywhere.

I'll be completely honest, guys,

this is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Parking up, Kevin and Kari continue on foot,

and an update comes in.

Rose Street car park, yeah?

Their sergeant has spoken to the woman by phone.

She could be in the multistorey car park.

Kari radios back to confirm they're on it.

Yeah, we're doing a foot patrol in there currently just now.

Kev's just going floor by floor, but we will

definitely double-check.

So that's the inspector.

The sergeant's managed to get her on the phone, it sounds

like she's in a very echoey area.

So potentially in here.

Not very much, but she won't tell us where she is.

So it looks like we are going to be walking floor to floor.

SHE GRUNTS

I'm just on the top floor and going to work my way down.

If you work your way up and we'll meet in the middle.

Staircase is clear and I'm just on the top floor just now.

There's no sign of anyone in the car park, but although the police

are now in direct contact with the woman, Kevin and Kari

still need to find her. Until they see her in person,

they can't be sure she doesn't need help.

Yeah, Inspector, that's the whole of Rose Street walked up and down

and all staircases checked - negative result.

Is the Eastgate car park open?

Where else would you get an echo?

Well, any one of the communal staircases

in all of the city centre.

Also on night shift, in the wild landscape of Glencoe,

are PCs Stephen Cooper and Roddy Sandeman.

They've spotted something concerning on the road.

There is a car ahead of us with no rear lights on and the front lights

look very dim, so we're just going to see if the dark triggers him

to turn them on or not.

And if not, then, uh, we'll stop him and see if he's got a problem.

I think this person in front is trying to signal to him as well

that they're not on.

Yeah. Still no lights.

The A82 travels right through our beat.

It's one of the busiest roads on the west coast of Scotland.

It's a long, windy road and not the sort of place

you want to be driving without lights on, because it's...

It can be an unsafe road.

We do get a lot of serious RTCs that we attend regularly

on that road.

So at the moment you can see the road's pitch-black.

We've not got streetlights in this area and you can see

when the headlights drop off the back,

there's absolutely no light to the rear of this vehicle.

So if for whatever reason a car did crash into the rear,

they wouldn't be able to see anything, really.

Approaching the vehicle, it becomes clear it's not a car,

but another camper van.

Roddy runs the plate through the police system.

It's all in order for insurance and MOT and whatnot.

Got an MOT last month.

But as Stephen pulls the van over,

it looks as though all its lights could be faulty.

Is their indicators not working either?

Hi there.

You've not got any lights on.

I know. My battery's flat, so we've been following that tractor.

Right, OK.

Where are you going to?

We're trying to get to Fort William.

We can't let you drive like that.

It's just an accident waiting to happen.

Yeah.

Yeah. It's all right. You're not in any trouble.

We're just trying to get you sorted, so...

But despite Stephen's reassurance, this Highland holiday

seems to be taking its toll.

Don't worry, we're just here to say you can't really be driving

on the roads with that.

Get someone out to you to help you.

Maybe the best thing is try and get it in the car park here for now,

and just get RAC out, cos they can probably jump it for you.

Is that what the problem is? The battery's just dead.

Yeah, the battery just started, like the radio cut off,

and then the lights started dimming, like, slowly.

It might be your alternator. I've had that before.

The alternator's broken, it's not charging the battery at all.

I think you're going to need to get someone out. Yeah.

Seems like you're probably not going to make it to Fort William. We can

help you push it back. There's a big lay-by. You can leave it here.

Yeah, we'll do that just now and then we'll get you sorted out

with some kind of breakdown cover or something.

If you do end up spending the night here, you've got a beautiful view

when you wake up in the morning.

But in mid-November, spending the night in a van with no power

promises to be less than comfortable.

Going negative.

Going extremely cold.

Yeah. It's definitely not a night to be out sleeping in a camper van,

certainly, I don't think. It's got to be zero or thereabouts,

I would say, if not negative, temperature-wise.

It's not really surprising that they were camping in the winter.

We get tourists all year round.

Obviously, the summer is busier, but people come up and visit

at all times of year and camp in tents in the snow.

I don't think anything surprises you, really, with the tourists.

You want to give me a hand pushing it? Yeah.

I'll try and shine a torch on where we're going.

With the van off the road... Not getting any further than that.

..the driver manages to get through to a recovery service.

With help on the way, Stephen and Roddy can leave the couple

and continue their shift.

Hope the rest of your trip goes a bit better.

Yeah, hopefully it gets sorted.

Have a good one. See you later.

It looks like they've had an electrical fault.

It's kind of occurred just recently.

That's caused the lights to fail.

So it's not like they're driving on purpose.

They're trying to get somewhere safe.

It can be frustrating when you see people driving dangerously

and carelessly, particularly on the road.

And for that incident, I felt a bit sorry for them because I know

I've been in that situation myself, driving old vehicles

where your vehicle's failed on you.

I don't think that was a deliberate act, so that's why we didn't

pursue it criminally,

give them a ticket or anything like that.

Make sure they're safe, that's the main thing.

Had they travelled on any further, the road gets twistier, darker,

and it would have been a really, really bad situation.

I used to have a T4 exactly like that.

That's why when... I knew it was the alternator

as soon as they told me the problem.

But would you be camping on a night like tonight?

Uh, I've got a diesel here in my van, so, yeah.

Um, but if the electricity cut out then that wouldn't be very pleasant.

No.

I've camped out in cold in Easter time in a tent once and woke up

with ice on my sleeping bag, and that was enough for me to decide

that I was never camping out in the cold again.

I like my creature comforts.

Back in Inverness, PCs Kevin Simpson and Kari McTaggart are still out

looking for a woman who could be at risk of harm.

5-0 Delta from 5-0 One...

She has been calling and texting other officers

and has now told them where she is.

From what Adam was saying, she's bought a couple of cans

of cider and she was planning to go sit on the beach.

So we'll take a walk round there and see what we can find.

The woman's mother has told the police she could be suicidal.

Until she's seen in person,

they can't be sure if she needs help.

Once a concern call is raised, we will have to see someone

face-to-face, cos people can text and say they're absolutely fine.

But until you speak to someone face-to-face and kind of get a feel

for how they really are...

It kind of varies depending on each person, basically.

And depending on how the woman is, Kari and Kevin will need to decide

what to do next.

Just to clarify, are we looking to 297 her if we find her?

Roger.

Section 297 of the Mental Health Act is a detention to basically

take someone to a place of safety,

to have their mental health be assessed.

It's a very powerful and helpful tool that we have.

It allows the control room and the Sergeant essentially

to have a look at the call and go, "Is there immediate concerns?"

The woman is now outside the city,

somewhere on the shores of Loch Ness.

Aye, not bad. Yourself? I don't know if you've got control there.

I don't know if you're familiar with the woods.

That's apparently where this female's potentially camping.

I don't know if one of yous could break off and head down with us,

because I've got no idea what the BLEEP I'm doing down there.

Appreciate it, mate. Thanks.

Have you got a decent torch?

It's pitch-dark, so a search dog has been called out to help.

Give us a shout when you're here

and we can retract so the dog can get a scent if need be.

Oh, Jesus.

Where the hell is she?

Jesus, man.

Kev, don't go too much into the woods for the dog unit.

I'm just checking that corner.

I'm already soaking.

It makes no difference being a bit more wet.

Can we get up this way?

I don't want to go too far into the woods until the dog unit goes in.

We'll go back up the beach first

and let the dog go.

Go ahead, mate.

Yeah. Go ahead.

Yeah, roger. We're just on the beach side.

We've walked the length and breadth of the beach,

we're satisfied she's not on the beach, so it's just to get

the woods checked.

That's the dog being let off.

So if I tell you to stop, stop.

Wait.

We'll cut up there and we'll get behind them.

DOG BARKS

DOG BARKS

I think they've got her.

This isn't fair.

This isn't nice or fair. Please leave me alone.

We're here to...

Please. WOMAN SHOUTS

This is the woman they are looking for.

She has set up camp in the woods.

After a few minutes with Kari and a female colleague, Becky,

the woman begins to calm down.

We're only here to try and help you.

I don't care. You wouldn't help me on the phone.

I called on the phone.

But it's a sensitive situation.

Kevin has dropped back to let them talk things through.

They'd be worried about, due to her personal background,

I think she would respond a little bit better to the females.

And so Becky and Kari here are doing a fair job

trying to bring her round. And I believe Becky is a negotiator,

so she should know her stuff a bit better than myself.

Leave me alone.

We can't at the moment cos we're concerned for you.

I've had enough of this crap.

We need to...we need to try and make sure you're OK.

I'm so tired.

I don't want to have a chat.

I don't want to have a conversation.

I want to go to sleep.

I think, for me, it's always treat people the way

you would want to be treated.

It's a natural thing to be able to talk and build rapport

and comfortable with people.

It's finding that common ground and it kind of gets them to not

a change in their behaviour, but more of a trust in you

and willingness to work with you and engage with you

just to give you that sort of little bit to work with them as well.

I ain't going to BLEEP tell anyone BLEEP.

What is it going to take?

We need to make sure that you'll keep yourself safe.

Yeah, I'm BLEEP safe, man.

She's not presenting to me as at immediate risk.

She had blankets. She had means of making a fire.

She had food. She'd set up little lights round the trees.

She'd set up herself a little campsite.

I didn't have concerns for her medically that she was going

to freeze or anything like that.

If she wants to live her life that way, then that's up to her.

They are doing some further checks, we're speaking with the NHS

and they've got limited information as well.

They can only check Scotland-wide. Um, however, we're going to be

phoning back the reporter and seeing what the original concerns were,

confirming if there's anything else, maybe in her background and history,

that we need to be worried about.

After a few more questions, it's decided the woman doesn't need

medical help and can be left to sleep in her tent -

despite the weather.

I am absolutely soaking to my pants.

She appears to be going down to the pub daily for food, etc.

And she seems to be engaging with them very well,

so they're quite happy and satisfied that should she continue to do that,

there's no issues and they're happy and satisfied that if there is any

issues that come to light in the future, that they've got

concerns for her, they'll make us aware.

Would I be caught camping in the peeing rain?

Probably not.

She's maybe just not got the lifestyle that you and I

would choose, but that's her choice.

There's nobody there.