Found Deceased UK - Sally Allan, 59, Ponteland, Northumberland, 26 December 2015

[Alyce]

bbm - or maybe they found a note? I'm thinking a lovely lady like her wouldn't want to leave her loved ones wondering, and without a final Good Bye. Maybe they didn't find a note at first but now they have.

Yes, I think it quite possible that Sally left a note, which was found straight away by her husband.

One thing that always stood out for me in the newspaper reports, was the line which said, as soon as Sally's husband realised she was not in the house, he phoned the police.
Now I know newspapers often condense stuff and even misreport ! but it did seem strange that the reports did not say, after checking with family members and friends, her husband then phoned the police.
He may of course have done so, and all reports just chose to leave out this detail. However,if his first action was to phone the police, that says to me that a note was left and the family knew something was very wrong, right from the start.
It would also tie in with the FB post that was made re her son and the statement regarding his mother having gone to do something very sad ( Bewick Lady's earlier post references this ).

 

[Davia18]

If Sally has indeed passed I hope she is now at peace. I understand mental illness and it does tend to hit in the middle of the night when the silence takes over and you have only your thoughts.

 

[charminglane]

If Sally has indeed passed I hope she is now at peace. I understand mental illness and it does tend to hit in the middle of the night when the silence takes over and you have only your thoughts.

Oh, yes, it really does.

 

[Missoni]

It's funny you should say that as I saw the picture of where the family had laid flowers by the river and there was what looked like a ladder into the river with arched handles above the surface like a swimming pool ladder.It made me wonder if Sally got into the river via the "ladder", either deliberately or in error, in a confused state of mind thinking it was an actual swimming pool. I won't post the pic from the Search 4 Sally facebook page but you can see one of the "ladders" in this pic from google maps

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...0x487e70b9e2d90617:0xb656a30594021532!6m1!1e1

I was thinking that's where she might have entered the water. In the pictures there seems to be flowers tied to the railings either side of that ladder.

When you look at the street view there, there are cars parked right there and she could have been seen going down that ladder.

 

[suzyjackson]

If any of you want a really heartwarming but tragic rollercoaster of a read, with a story that very much mirrors this one, take half an hour to have a look at Susan McLean's thread. She was an American holidaymaker who went missing in Scotland last year and posters here included a local searcher with a very good reason to search, Susan's best friend who flew from America to help, and Susan's husband, along with a couple of her other friends from the USA.

The bombshell half way through blew all our minds, and while it wasn't the ending we'd hope for it really brought the Websleuths community together. Highly recommend (this is not an Amazon review!)

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...ean-61-Aberfeldy-17-May-2015-American-visitor

Off topic but thank you for mentioning that thread, I wasn't aware of that case at all and was holding my breath whilst reading it. What a sad story but how similar to Sally's.

 

[suzyjackson]

Yes, I think it quite possible that Sally left a note, which was found straight away by her husband.

One thing that always stood out for me in the newspaper reports, was the line which said, as soon as Sally's husband realised she was not in the house, he phoned the police.
Now I know newspapers often condense stuff and even misreport ! but it did seem strange that the reports did not say, after checking with family members and friends, her husband then phoned the police.
He may of course have done so, and all reports just chose to leave out this detail. However,if his first action was to phone the police, that says to me that a note was left and the family knew something was very wrong, right from the start.
It would also tie in with the FB post that was made re her son and the statement regarding his mother having gone to do something very sad ( Bewick Lady's earlier post references this ).

BBM - that is a possibility but if that were the case I'm surprised the family allowed everyone to spend their time searching especially over the Christmas holidays.

If they'd thought from the start that they were looking for a body I'd hope they would have asked for water searches, I know from the facebook group that at least one person was searching from a boat but afaik all other searchers were on land.

The fact that they choose MIND straight away as their chosen charity does suggest that they were already aware of some MH issues and maybe this wasn't quite as out of character as we'd been told.

JMO

 

[suzyjackson]

I think even if she did jump into the river at the place the flowers were laid it wouldn't be enough to kill or majorly injur her. I think like mentioned above she went in peacefully rather than jumped from one of the bridges. If it is where her and her husband often walked then it's possible she already had a plan in her head to go there to end her life.

This isn't a nice thought but exactly how would one die by entering the water from the Quayside level? Isn't it very difficult to drown yourself?

 

[dotr]

This isn't a nice thought but exactly how would one die by entering the water from the Quayside level? Isn't it very difficult to drown yourself?

Wondering if Ms Allan entered the water, then swam until she could swim no further, imo, speculation.

 

[Elainera]

This isn't a nice thought but exactly how would one die by entering the water from the Quayside level? Isn't it very difficult to drown yourself?

I asked a similar question earlier. Someone said hypothermia would soon render you unable to swim or keep afloat, and I think this is probably right. It was almost freezing that night? She wouldn't have lasted long, half an hour perhaps?

The inner despair must be immense when in such a situation you don't get back out, which she maybe could have, since there was a ladder.

 

[blefuscu]

This isn't a nice thought but exactly how would one die by entering the water from the Quayside level? Isn't it very difficult to drown yourself?

The body goes into shock within one minute of entering cold water, the person will quickly hyperventilate and if they panic that will continue. The person's circulation is also affected and the heart has to work considerably harder to pump the blood around the body. Between 5 and 15 mins your body then goes into cold incapacitation and you won't be able to swim as your muscles don't work properly and you cannot stay afloat. If you are still alive and haven't drowned by 20 minutes hypothermia will start to set in.

 

[Treelights]

The body goes into shock within one minute of entering cold water, the person will quickly hyperventilate and if they panic that will continue. The person's circulation is also affected and the heart has to work considerably harder to pump the blood around the body. Between 5 and 15 mins your body then goes into cold incapacitation and you won't be able to swim as your muscles don't work properly and you cannot stay afloat. If you are still alive and haven't drowned by 20 minutes hypothermia will start to set in.

Thanks for the info. What a sad way to go, if it happened this way for her.

 

[Elainera]

I googled and found that the air temperature was around 5 degrees Celsius that night, about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. I don't know of course how cold the water was but it must have been similar.

In this article hypothermia in water is discussed.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/airplane-1549-hudson-hypothermia/

Many of the symptoms of hypothermia resemble those of a drunken stupor: sleepiness, clumsiness, confusion and even slurred speech.

When you first go into extremely cold water there is this weird response called a cold shock response. People start to hyperventilate immediately. For one to three minutes you breathe very fast and deep, uncontrollably. If you go underwater, you could swallow water and die. …I can't tell you how often this occurs but it's certainly a very real phenomenon. Once that response goes away, you're fine…for awhile.

Generally, a person can survive in 41-degree F (5-degree C) water for 10, 15 or 20 minutes before the muscles get weak, you lose coordination and strength, which happens because the blood moves away from the extremities and toward the center, or core, of the body.

 

[Missoni]

Wondering if Ms Allan entered the water, then swam until she could swim no further, imo, speculation.

My thoughts too, not forgetting she'd just walked 11 miles to that point. I would have been pretty cold just walking around, then entering the water after all that? MOO of course.

 

[Cherwell]

that is a possibility but if that were the case I'm surprised the family allowed everyone to spend their time searching especially over the Christmas holidays. If they'd thought from the start that they were looking for a body I'd hope they would have asked for water searches, I know from the facebook group that at least one person was searching from a boat but afaik all other searchers were on land.

I don't think there was a note, for the reasons Suzy gives.

The fact that they choose MIND straight away as their chosen charity does suggest that they were already aware of some MH issues and maybe this wasn't quite as out of character as we'd been told

Now here I differ. I don't get the impression from their statements that they had had any suspicion that there was anything amiss with Sally's mental health. I think that they have settled for that as the most bearable explanation.
Although frankly, people who decide to end their own lives may be perfectly sane, and it is perhaps disrespectful to assume that they were not. There are various reasons why someone might not want to go on.

 

[Missoni]

I was wondering that maybe the police would have been in touch with her GP. Maybe Sally knew something was amiss as as well as her doctor and she kept it all from her family. Maybe that's how they've come to the conclusion of MH issues?

 

[ColourPurple]

BBM - that is a possibility but if that were the case I'm surprised the family allowed everyone to spend their time searching especially over the Christmas holidays.

If they'd thought from the start that they were looking for a body I'd hope they would have asked for water searches, I know from the facebook group that at least one person was searching from a boat but afaik all other searchers were on land.

The fact that they choose MIND straight away as their chosen charity does suggest that they were already aware of some MH issues and maybe this wasn't quite as out of character as we'd been told.

JMO

Reading the two recent statements from family they said it was possible she was trying to mask and cope with mental health issues on her own that they nothing about, so I don't think they were aware of any mental health issues. It seems clear that something affected her mind and thought process that night, whether it be depression, anxiety, dementia, psychosis, a fugue state or something else. Something made her walk for three hours and then end up in the water. They don't know for sure what it was and I guess unless the autopsy shows something they may never know... but MIND covers all kinds of mental health conditions so I think it was a good choice.

 

[Hexe]

The family's willingness to accept that Sally is dead is, I must say, quite unusual, IMO. Usually, even when there are signs that the person in question might have been suicidal, the friends and relatives are in denial and need some time to accept that their beloved one is gone.
I am not trying to say that there was some foul play here, I just think Sally's family knows something they did not reveal, and the happy picture they've painted wasn't entirely true.

 

[ColourPurple]

The family's willingness to accept that Sally is dead is, I must say, quite unusual, IMO. Usually, even when there are signs that the person in question might have been suicidal, the friends and relatives are in denial and need some time to accept that their beloved one is gone.
I am not trying to say that there was some foul play here, I just think Sally's family knows something they did not reveal, and the happy picture they've painted wasn't entirely true.

I think it's more likely the police have shown them that there's no way she could be anywhere else other than the river.

 

[bluesneakers]

Wondering if Ms Allan entered the water, then swam until she could swim no further, imo, speculation.

Walking into the water reminds me of Virginia Woolf.

 

[Coquette]

This isn't a nice thought but exactly how would one die by entering the water from the Quayside level? Isn't it very difficult to drown yourself?

If someone took sleeping pills or anxiety medication like Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, etc., and then waited for the desired drowsiness to set in, a slip into icy water just as near unconsciousness took place would - in my opinion - be the most civilized or least traumatic way to end one's life by drowning. Sadly, this is often how people drown in bathtubs as well.