Two friends died on Yr Wyddfa after trying to call 999, inquest hears
Jayden Long, 19, and Eddie Hill, 20, from Dereham, Norfolk, were walking on a mountain range in Eryri (also known as Snowdonia) when they died on 19 February.
A police expert at their inquest revealed the pair had tried to call 999 but the alert was not escalated as it should have been. The mountain rescue team did not have enough information about the location or nature of the 999 call to act immediately.
According to Philip Benbow, lead co-ordinator of Llanberis Mountain Rescue team, they were alerted to an abandoned 999 call made three hours earlier from a male thought to be on Crib y Ddysgl. The call was traced back to Long’s mobile phone.
Despite further searches involving mountain rescue teams, the coastguard helicopter, and a search and rescue dog team, the men remained missing until their bodies were found at 10:46 on 19 February.
The scene on the ridge was described as "full winter conditions" with signage warning that certain routes, including Crib Goch, require experienced climbers.
Det Con James Lloyd from North Wales Police’s professional standards department admitted attempts to contact the 999 caller were not enough and the incident "should have been escalated". He stressed, however, that the force did not contribute to the men’s deaths.
The inquest continues.
