At this point PCs Franklin and Sawyer have heard that a body has been found at Harrowdown Hill and, taking three officers to act as cordons, they leave Abingdon police station for the scene.
Q. And where did you then go?
A. We then went to the track that leads up to Harrowdown Hill, I do not know the name of the track, but when we arrived we saw a vehicle parked which belonged to Louise. We started walking up the track. We also had with us two paramedics who had arrived, which we took up with us to make sure that the person we were going to see did not require any medical assistance.
As with Franklin we have Sawyer on Christian name terms with the searchers. Here though it should be noted that Norman Baker states in his book that Louise Holmes was the then girl friend of PC Sawyer. I wondered how Mr Baker had come by this information but he was unable to tell me off the cuff and apologised that it would be too time consuming to find the source of it in his considerable number of documents. Although I'm not sure about this I believe that Ms Holmes has denied any such relationship at that time.
Q. Those two paramedics had obviously arrived separately from you?
A. They had arrived more or less at the same time we did. So the five of us went up because we were with Sergeant Alan Dadd as well.
Q. Where did you stop the cars?
A. Stopped the cars -- I believe it at is the top, I have not seen the map but I believe it is at the top of Common Lane. Then we turned left and right up to the track which leads up to Harrowdown Hill.
Q. You go along the track, where do you then go to?
A. We met Paul from SEBEV walking down the hill.
Q. Paul Chapman?
A. He told us basically the body was further up in the woods. We continued walking up the hill, where I saw DC Coe and two uniformed officers. I said, you know: whereabouts is the body? He pointed the path he had taken. I asked him if he had approached the body. He said he had. I asked him to point out where he had entered the woods and PC Franklin and myself entered the woods at the same point, taking with us a dozen or 15 aluminium poles we use when we are moving towards a scene to establish a common approach path.
This seems to be the only time at the Inquiry that Sergeant Dadd is mentioned.
As with PC Franklin PC Sawyer tells the Inquiry that they meet Paul. But no mention is made of Louise Holmes, just her car.
Again it's recorded that Coe is seen with two uniformed officers. Whereas Franklin mentions the fact once it will later be seen that Sawyer states on three occasions that they were in uniform.
Sawyer's description of his and Franklin's interaction with Coe differs from that of Franklin ... something to look at later perhaps.
Q. Were the paramedics with you at the time?
A. Yes.
Q. The other three officers?
A. They remained down on the path.
Q. So it is you, PC Franklin and two paramedics, then the other three officers you have met; is that right?
A. Yes.
Q. You go down further into the woods, is that right?
A. The three officers -- DC Coe and the two uniformed officers -- stayed on the path which leads through the woods. We branched off to the left about 50 or 70 metres up into the woods, where the body was.
Q. So it is just the four of you; is that right?
A. Just the four of us went up there.
Although not mentioned it seems likely to me that Sergeant Dadd stayed with Coe and the two uniformed officers until the ambulance team were leaving the scene.
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