An inquest has heard how police searched hospital grounds before a young father was found dead in a lift days after Christmas. Dwayne Nicklin, 28, from Blurton, Stoke-on-Trent, was pronounced dead at 8.03am on December 28, 2023, at the Royal Stoke University Hospital.
Concerns for welfare raised before discovery
Ambulance staff arrived within minutes of being alerted but could not save him, the court heard. The dad-of-two had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and emotionally unstable personality disorder, and had a history of self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
Earlier in December 2023, he had attended the crisis care centre at Harplands Hospital, two days after posting a self-harm image on social media, according to The Sentinel.
Police search and 999 call
In the early hours of December 28, Dwayne video called his former partner, who he had spent around a week with over the festive period before leaving her address on Christmas Day. She called 999 shortly after 1am after he said he was by a car park near Harplands Hospital.
Police were dispatched within two minutes of the call, with the first officers arriving at 1.21am. They initially searched the grounds of the psychiatric hospital but could not locate him there, then moved to nearby Royal Stoke, where the search covered car parks and buildings. Dwayne had previously worked as a security guard at the hospital and knew the site.
More officers joined the search, which included the only multi-storey car park in operation at the time. A second multi-storey car park, which opened in 2024, was under construction and not accessible to the public in December 2023.
Lift sighting and missing person grading
Dwayne called his former partner again before 2am, stating he was in a lift at the hospital. Police believed he may have been in the hospital's Lyme Building, based on the visual description of the lift and because it was an area he had frequented during his former job. Hospital security staff checked CCTV, and it was believed he was sighted in the Lyme Building before 3am. Calls to his phone rang out but were not answered, indicating it was still switched on.
Chief Inspector Emily Butterworth, force incident manager that night, said the initial 999 call was graded as a concern for safety. Six officers took part in the search. Police also contacted Dwayne's mother, who worked in the children's accident and emergency department, and visited two addresses where he might have gone.
At around 3am, officers at the scene requested that Dwayne be classed as a high-risk missing person. PC Amelia Stott said: "We had not located him within half-an-hour of our search - we wanted to increase the risk so we could get better resources and facilities to help us search."
PC James Davidson said: "I tried to raise it due to the information we had. They informed me they wouldn't be making it a high-risk missing person and would keep it as a concern for safety."
Chief Inspector Butterworth said: "To me his intentions were he needed and wanted help. He was disclosing his location in order for someone to help him. He had always been a concern. We were concerned for him - the priority was to find him at the earliest opportunity."
The inquest continues.
