M9 inquiry told crashed car call was not logged as couple lay undiscovered for three days

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Fatal Accident Inquiry into the deaths of two people who lay undiscovered by the side of the M9 for three days has heard how police scoured a wide area of Perthshire for the couple – unaware that a farmer had reported their car crashed in a field near Stirling.Lamara Bell, 25, and John Yuill, 28, both from Falkirk, were returning from a camping trip near Lochearnhead, Perthshire, when their Renault Clio crashed.It took police three days to visit the scene of the crash, in a field close to the M9 at ­Bannockburn in July 2015, after the accident was reported.The inquiry, which began at Falkirk Sheriff Court on Monday, heard the pair had gone camping with three others, with John, who held only a ­provisional licence, supervised on the way out by a qualified driver.But in the early hours of July 5 the “atmosphere changed”, John became upset, and he left at about 1.20am with Lamara, who did not hold a driving licence.Crown counsel Elaine Smith said that at 5.31am, the car was caught on a speed camera going 91mph on the A9 north between Auchterarder and Perth.The couple were later seen on CCTV at Broxden Services, Perth, where John used the toilet and Lamara bought cigarettes and crisps.Phone data analysis showed that John’s mobile made contact with a mast at Blackford – halfway back to Stirling on the A9 – at 5.50am.The inquiry heard a missing persons inquiry was launched after their families reported they had not returned home and police were aware that John had taken cannabis and he and Lamara had been drinking.Officers concluded that the “most likely scenario” was that they had gone off the road.