n abandoned 999 call made before two young hikers were found dead on a mountain in Wales was not escalated as it should have been, an inquest has heard.
Eddie Hall, 20, and Jayden Long, 19, from Dereham, Norfolk, died while hiking in Eryri, also known as Snowdonia. Their deaths are now the subject of an inquest at Gwynedd Coroner's Court in Caernarfon, where concerns have been raised about how the emergency call was handled.
A police expert told the inquest that a 999 call made around three hours before the pair were reported missing had been abandoned. The call was later identified as having come from Long's mobile phone.
Philip Benbow, lead coordinator of Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team, told the court that he was alerted by North Wales Police on 18 February after being informed about the abandoned emergency call. The call was believed to have originated from someone on Crib y Ddysgl, the mountain ridge where the two men were later found.
The handling of the call was subsequently examined by North Wales Police's professional standards department. Detective Constable James Lloyd admitted during the inquest that the incident "wasn't escalated as it should have been".
The admission has raised questions about what action could have been taken after the abandoned call was received and whether the incident should have been treated with greater urgency.
Assistant coroner Sarah Riley said she had concerns about the failure to escalate the 999 call. She said she would send her conclusion to North Wales Police so the force could address those concerns, giving the police 56 days to respond.
The court heard that the information associated with the abandoned call was not initially considered sufficient to trigger an immediate rescue response. However, the subsequent investigation into how the call was handled has highlighted the importance of emergency operators and police responding appropriately when a caller contacts the emergency services but the call ends before a conversation can take place.
Long's father, Stephen, reportedly described the handling of the incident as "incompetence".
The inquest is continuing to examine the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the two friends. The focus on the abandoned 999 call has raised concerns about whether the emergency response could have been handled differently after Long's phone contacted the service.
The findings from the inquest are expected to be communicated to North Wales Police, allowing the force to consider the concerns raised about the handling and escalation of the emergency call.
