Around Christmas time, we had news that a new piece of sonar scanning technology would be used to scan the Thames river to establish if our son Andrew might be found there. It was a friend who pointed out to me that when the good news for your family is an opportunity to perhaps find your child’s remains and therefore some sort of closure, it places the rest of your life very firmly in perspective. Certainly it speaks powerfully of the never-ending nightmare that life becomes for those missing a loved one. Could they have been suicidal and hidden it from you? Could your child have been abducted, murdered, trafficked? Could some terrible accident have befallen them? These possibilities are the ones that remain in the minds of the parents of a missing child, try as they might to push them aside.
And so it came about, through the efforts of a friend and the generosity of a firm (Liquavision) specialising in underwater search methods that we were the first parents of a missing child in the UK to carry out a search of this sort. For the technologically minded we used a Starfish 990F 1.1MHz side sonar scanner, the first to be specifically developed to enable sufficient resolution to identify bodies. The team scanned from The Woolwich Barrier to Tower Bridge. As a result, we now at least know that Andrew is not a body in the Thames – it does not resolve the ongoing question of where he might be, but we can take encouragement from the idea that he is more likely perhaps to be alive.
The images below demonstrate the value of this method of scanning. Often when people go missing any underwater search involves divers struggling with tides and currents, zero visibility, extreme cold, limited time frames and much personal risk. All these problems are avoided with a scan and unclear targets can be examined more closely by deploying a ROV to take video footage and further scans of the target at close proximity, minimising the need for risk and maximising the chances of successful identification of a body.
And so it came about, through the efforts of a friend and the generosity of a firm (Liquavision) specialising in underwater search methods that we were the first parents of a missing child in the UK to carry out a search of this sort. For the technologically minded we used a Starfish 990F 1.1MHz side sonar scanner, the first to be specifically developed to enable sufficient resolution to identify bodies. The team scanned from The Woolwich Barrier to Tower Bridge. As a result, we now at least know that Andrew is not a body in the Thames – it does not resolve the ongoing question of where he might be, but we can take encouragement from the idea that he is more likely perhaps to be alive.
The images below demonstrate the value of this method of scanning. Often when people go missing any underwater search involves divers struggling with tides and currents, zero visibility, extreme cold, limited time frames and much personal risk. All these problems are avoided with a scan and unclear targets can be examined more closely by deploying a ROV to take video footage and further scans of the target at close proximity, minimising the need for risk and maximising the chances of successful identification of a body.
From left: a sunken boat & mast, a fish (white) and an upturned car (left side of image).
We will be discussing and demonstrating this technology and how it can help locate the missing in some circumstances on BBC Missing 2011 next month in more detail. Missing 2011 runs for 4 weeks on BBC1 at 9.15 a.m. commencing 9th May 2011. The scanning equipment will be featured on the 11th May.
We will be discussing and demonstrating this technology and how it can help locate the missing in some circumstances on BBC Missing 2011 next month in more detail. Missing 2011 runs for 4 weeks on BBC1 at 9.15 a.m. commencing 9th May 2011. The scanning equipment will be featured on the 11th May.
