Mother finds teen daughter's body in park after she used a smartphone tracker to locate her when she didn't return home
A devastated mother has told an inquest how she discovered her missing teenage daughter's body using a Find My Phone app.
On 27 January 2018, 18-year-old Abi Oliver committed suicide in a west London park near Chiswick House, Metro reports. She had told her mother she was going to meet friends.
The teenager's suicide came after years of mental health struggles described by the coroner as "one of the most distressing cases" he had ever seen. She had already spent a year in various mental health facilities before the incident.
Her family raised concerns when she was placed in a psychiatric unit in Manchester, as it was hundreds of miles away from her family and loved ones.
A group rallied together to search for Abi after she failed to return home on a fateful day. They were able to finally track her down tracing GPS signals from her phone using the Find My Phone app.
Tasha Oliver, Abi's mother, performed CPR on her daughter until the emergency services arrived. However, the teenager later died at West Middlesex Hospital despite the doctors' best efforts.
A statement from Tasha was read out to the West London Coroners’ Court. "I was happy that Abi had made plans to meet with friends on her own as Abi had been suffering from long term depression and anxiety," she said. "Abi planning to meet a friend was good because she would not even go to the shops with me."
According to the heartbroken mother, Abi had told her she would make her way through the grounds of Chiswick House before the duo walked their separate ways. However, Tasha grew concerned after the teenager failed to return home and did not return her messages.
"I was unsure how long to leave her. I did not want to pressure her. I even texted my friend asking how long to leave it," Tasha said in her statement. "I zoomed in on the (Find My Phone) map and it showed Abi being in the grounds of Chiswick House."
That said, the teenager's family has since questioned guidelines for patients transitioning from child to adult mental health units in a bid to prevent more children from falling into a "black hole" in the system.
In response, Coroner Sean Cummings said he would talk to government officials about potential improvements in mental health services designed for young people.
"I am going to consider whether it would be useful for me to report to the secretary of state in terms of provisions of mental health for young people," he added.
The coroner ruled Abi's death a suicide.