The body of a man who was thought to be missing for days was found by his wife behind their garden shed after a chainsaw accident.
Amy Parry had reported her husband Ed missing after returning home to their house in Seasalter, near Whitstable, and finding no trace of him.
After a police search, Amy, guided by the family dog, stumbled across her husband’s body.
She said: ‘I never thought for one second he was on the property. I only found him because one of my dogs kept going behind the back there, and then it just dawned on me.’
An inquest heard Parry, a 54-year-old plumber and musician, suffered a catastrophic wound to his left wrist while carrying out gardening work with a handheld chainsaw.
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Amy, 44, had returned home around 4.30 pm on April 21 after taking her eldest son, Frederick, 18, to Ashford.
She found her younger son, Ralph, 13, alone at home, but no sign of her husband. His car and wallet were left at home.
‘He wasn’t answering his phone. It was literally like he’d been abducted. It was bizarre from the start. It didn’t add up at all,’ she recalled.
She reported him missing that evening, and searches were carried out of the house.
Amy told police her husband had been doing work in the neighbour’s garden, but he was still missing.
Days later, Amy ran outside and found officers carrying out door-to-door enquiries, saying she had found her husband’s body wedged between the shed and fence panels.
Coroner Sarah Clarke confirmed there was ‘evidence of gardening jobs being completed’ and in the same area was a handheld chainsaw, which ‘could be seen to have blood-staining’.
A police investigation confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances or third-party involvement, and toxicology tests found no substances of concern in Parry’s system.
After reviewing the evidence at the hearing on Wednesday, Coroner Clarke was confident Mr Parry did not intend to take his own life.
At the inquest in Maidstone on Wednesday, the coroner found there were no suspicious circumstances and ruled the death accidental.
Amy added: ‘They were probably the worst two days of my life because he didn’t have mental health problems, but you then analyse everything. I thought maybe he was really depressed and I didn’t realise.’
She said the dad-of-two ‘lived for music’ and was the lead guitarist in local band The Laziathons, which has since said it cannot continue without him.
She said she raised concerns about the police investigation and the failure of officers to find her husband sooner, leaving her to eventually discover his body herself.
‘We got an apology, but it wasn’t that great, really,’ Amy said. ‘They searched next door. If they’d just looked over the fence, they would have seen him. There were a lot of things that were missed. But they’ve told me that they’ve put better measures in place.’
Chief Superintendent Rob Marsh said: ‘The findings established officers were professional, helpful, and provided regular updates to the family throughout, however it was found the extent of the initial search at this property could have been broader and further learning has been identified.
‘As a result, changes have been made to missing person searches including additional supervision. The findings of the review have been shared with Mr Parry’s family. The force has also apologised and its thoughts remain with them following their loss.’
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