Tuesday 13th November 2007 North of Foxton locks
It was 9 oclock in the morning when the police helicopter first flew overhead.
We could tell something was up, because it flew back and forth, dodging the power lines, hovering over hedges and then shooting off across the fields only to return again later.
Just as we got used to the helicopter as company, two policemen from cycling branch swept past our moorings pedalling north towards Debdale.
Wondering what could be the cause of all this interest in our otherwise peaceful canal it came to mind that we were only a mile from Gartree high security prison. Guessing there had been a break-out, we locked our doors.
But walking down to Foxton Locks after lunch we discovered another twenty officers combing the area. The lock flight was closed and emptied, all gates were open and the side ponds drained.
Ladders were lowered into the lock chambers for the crew to examine the brown squidge left behind by the water. A systematic search was in progress for a body.
It turned out that the hunt was for a lady who had disappeared leaving notes at home and in her nearby car suggesting she had rather sad intentions.
I reflected on the sadness of it all, and the date hadnt escaped my notice, but I hoped that she had changed her mind and after reflection would reappear alive and well.
We left the crowd of searchers to get on with their job and recalled a similar incident last year at Ferry Meadows near Peterborough where a helicopter search was conducted at night and a boat patrol checked the waters edge the following day for a woman of a similar age.
