The family of a man found dead in a river two months after vanishing have demanded a fresh investigation, claiming he could have been murdered. Jason Anderson, 33, was discovered in the River Ayr in Failford, Mauchline, on Valentine's Day, after last being seen in the village of Catrine on December 12 last year.
Family lodges formal complaint
Jason's mother, Renatta Ginns, has lodged a formal complaint with Police Scotland over their handling of the case, fearing his death was suspicious and has not been properly investigated. The family has demanded a full independent review of the case and a review of his post-mortem, which was inconclusive.
Renatta told the Record: "He didn't drown. He didn't harm himself in any way. The day before he went missing he had bruising all down his face you can see very clearly in the CCTV. So what happened to my son before that? He got paid his full months' money the day before he was last seen. Where did that go?"
Chilling messages received
The family received chilling messages suggesting Jason had come to harm before his body was found. One Facebook message read: "Do you wanna see your son's final moments alive? Because he was crying like a b****. And good luck with the police finding me, I'm not in the UK no more. Tell them to have fun coming to get me."
Renatta said: "I feel let down by Police Scotland. They never listened to what I was telling them. I could scream it from the rooftops but they weren't listening to anything we had to say. As time went on the more information what we were getting it was getting more and more obvious that something sinister had happened to him. Something bad. I want it reinvestigated. He deserves that."
Circumstances of disappearance
Jason is understood to have vanished after police were called to investigate a domestic incident. The family say they weren't told he was missing until six days after he was last seen alive. The last confirmed sighting of him was in the Ayrshire village on December 12. Police made several appeals to find him, with officers carrying out door-to-door enquiries and trawling CCTV footage. The police helicopter and drones, the Dive and Marine Unit and mountain rescue teams were also involved in the operation.
Renatta said: "I knew within my heart that my son wasn't here any more. I knew something was wrong. My son wouldn't have just disappeared. He had contacted his cousin on the day he went missing, crying his eyes out to get him a ticket to go to Manchester to see him. His cousin said he didn't have the money to provide it for him. All of a sudden my son is missing never to be seen again. He wanted to get away."
Inconclusive post-mortem
The death remains "unexplained" several months on. Renatta said: "I had an argument with the last sergeant who phoned me. He said maybe he fell and slipped into the water. I said 'what dead?' I've had no contact since police since I put a complaint in against them. I've written to the procurator fiscal and we're wanting a desktop post mortem done because the post mortem and the toxicology aren't adding up. They are unascertained."
The family say they want a review of CCTV in a bid to piece together Jason's last movements and investigations into a man seen walking with him in one image shown to the family. Renatta said: "There was so much information passed on to the police. They have disregarded anything we had to say. Every time they came into the house they didn't take me seriously."
Police response
A Police Scotland spokesman said: "The death of Jason Anderson is being treated as unexplained and enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances. A complaint has been received and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time."
