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Author Topic: Finding a body  (Read 7842 times)

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Jmac

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Finding a body
« on: September 24, 2013, 05:36:39 PM »

Hello -- my first time here and I already have a question. I'm very new to writing mysteries, and this one is a sort of 'mixed-genre'. Anyway, here's the question.

A group of people (in their mid-teens) find a body down a ravine (they are at the top). He's not moving and they are pretty sure he is dead (he is). I'm not sure of police procedure here. They will call the police, obviously, but would they be taken in for questioning? I know they would be questioned, i.e. -- did you see anyone, etc. -- but I'm trying to work out if they would be taken to a police station and interviewed.

Would they be asked to stay around while the body was hauled-up -- so they could say if they can identify him (they live locally). Would they just be allowed to go right home from the scene of the find after a few questions? Also would their parents be called --they don't want their parents to know they snuck off to a party that night -- but would the police call them anyway?

Sorry about all these questions -- I'm in the UK -- and I know police procedures vary, but happy to listen to all.
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Dave Freas

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Re: Finding a body
« Reply #1 on: September 24, 2013, 06:28:56 PM »

Hi, Jmac, and welcome to MWF.

The police would interview the teens at the scene but might wait until their parents arrive since the teens are minors.  The questioning would be quite extensive and detailed to glean as much information as possible from them.  The teens then would be asked to come into the police station the next day to give a formal (written) statement, which would be printed out for them to sign.  They wouldn't be taken to the police station for questioning unless the police had reason to suspect the were involved in the man's death or knew more than they were saying.  In that case, they definitely would not question the teens until their parents arrived.

The police may or may not ask the teens to look at the body to see if they know the dead man.  It would depend to some extent on how badly damaged the body was in the fall.  Even if the teens did identify him, the police would confirm his identity through other sources.

One factor that might lead to the police calling the teens' parents is if the area has a curfew and the teens are of an age where it applies to them.

Some of the Law Enforcement Officers here may be able to give you a more detailed answer (and correct my errors).

Hope this helps.

Dave
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Jmac

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Re: Finding a body
« Reply #2 on: September 24, 2013, 08:04:39 PM »

Thank you so much -- I can't tell you how helpful this is. I think this forum is going to be an interesting and helpful resource.
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B L McAllister

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Re: Finding a body
« Reply #3 on: September 25, 2013, 11:07:10 AM »

.... I think this forum is going to be an interesting and helpful resource.

It has slow periods when nobody has a question (or even when nobody has an answer), but I check it every day, because it has extremely useful days, also.
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Byron Leon McAllister.
Books by Byron and Kay McAllister can most easily be obtained as e-books or in print from the publisher at http://www.writewordsinc.com/ For "Undercover Nudist," the print version is an improved version of the ebook version. The others are the same in both formats.
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