22-year-old Rosie Johnson, whose disappearance sparked a major search back in June 2019, was found hanging in a tree by colleagues 5 days after she left the campsite where she worked equipped with a length of rope.
An inquest held in Newport today (Thursday) heard how the zoology graduate went missing overnight between Sunday 23rd and Monday 24th June 2019, with concerned friends and colleagues reporting her missing to Hampshire Constabulary when she failed to sign in for work as expected.
As previously reported by Island Echo, a large-scale search was carried out in and around Wootton in a bid to locate the field studies instructor who had gone missing from PGL Little Canada on New Road. Police, Lowland SAR, Coastguard and dozens of PGL colleagues and members of the public rallied together in the hope of finding Rosie, but sadly her body was found 5 days later on Friday 28th June.
Today’s inquest revealed that Rosie’s body was discovered by 2 colleagues and a group of 14 children in amongst trees off the Public Bridleway N17 near Havenstreet. The authorities were alerted and attended the scene to discover Rosie hanging from a tree. She was surrounded by her possessions including a mobile phone, purse and a rucksack containing a length of rope and a bottle of spiced rum. The discovery was made when a child spotted some clothing as PGL leaders took a group on a trek of the local area.
A post mortem showed no signs of third party involvement but did reveal a tight ligature mark around Rosie’s head. No drugs or alcohol were found in her system, although the presence of such could not be entirely ruled out. Rosie was formally identified by her dental records.
Born on 6th August 1996, Rosie is said to have had a normal childhood growing up surrounded by her siblings. She loved baking cakes, listening to Harry Potter and was a keen horse rider. She started her working career as a catering assistant before pursuing a degree in zoology as her interest in conservation grew. She spent some time in South Africa and took part in the National Trust’s ranger programme.
Her medical records showed no previous mental health issues or relevant health concerns, with no alcohol or drug misuse history either. Absolutely no concerns for Rosie’s wellbeing were raised with nothing to suggest she intended to harm herself.
A night out in Ryde
27-year-old Ariane Massey, a colleague and friend of Rosie Johnson’s, gave live evidence in court today and described how Rosie had moved in with her after a falling out with another female colleague shortly after arriving at Little Canada in February 2019.
Ariane shared details about Rosie and her character, as well as her relationship with boyfriend Brendan Storer who she met whilst working at the activities centre. The relationship was described as casual, later becoming more serious but that Rosie had become ‘paranoid’ about their relationship. This was exacerbated after a night out in Ryde during which a random man commented whilst in a pub that Rosie was ‘punching above her weight’, something which she is said to have taken to heart. This was something also mentioned by others on camp, with an apparent jealously from other female colleagues.
It was during this night out in Ryde that it is believed Rosie’s drink was spiked. Although she was reported missing to the Police after failing to return to PGL, she was later found at 07:00 the next morning in a hedge near to Ryde St John’s train station. Rosie told Police that she had come to no harm that night, but her friends told the inquest that they strongly suspected she had been spiked as she wasn’t making sense and it was out of character. It was unusual for Rosie to drink so much that she became out of control and it was unusual for her to be gone all night.
It is now known that Brendan Storer was interviewed by Police for over 5 hours as detectives probed Rosie’s disappearance, but the evidence given in today’s inquest painted a picture of a caring boyfriend who tried his hardest to find Rosie once he realised she was missing. He had no involvement in Rosie’s death.
Mediation Meeting
On the day of her disappearance, Sunday 23rd June, Rosie was said to be happy and her normal self. She had enjoyed a meal and drinks at Cibo in Wootton and went on to purchase more Prosecco from Tesco Express. Later that day Rosie is said to have been ‘quite drunk’ and by 21:00 had fallen asleep fully clothed on her bed.
Araine described having a conversation with Rosie about another colleague with whom Rosie was due to have a mediation meeting with the following day – Monday. Rosie is said to have been worried about the meeting and didn’t want to go, nor for it to affect her work or make her look bad. This was something also mentioned to colleague Naomi Jackson during their meal at Cibo earlier in the day too.
The meeting had been called for to settle differences between Rosie and her colleague, Sinead Jackson. It was something Rosie had spoken about to several people including her friends, boyfriend and mum. The reasoning for the meeting is conflicted by the parties involved and led to a postponement of proceedings during the inquest.
A walk in the dark
As the night went on, Rosie became upset and started crying with Ariane offering her a hug, which improved the situation. Rosie had texted her boyfriend to say ‘I’m done, I’m done’, but wasn’t specific as to what she meant.
By 22:00, the Aberdeenshire-born graduate decided she was going to go for a walk – alone and in the dark. Ariane was concerned and offered to go with Rosie, but the offer was declined on the basis she needed to clear her head. By this time Rosie had sobered up but was ‘angry’.
The last confirmed sighting of Rosie was near a side entrance to PGL on New Road. The witness, Mrs Ann Hopkins, described Rosie as looking ‘traumatised’ and she drove past.
It’s known that the last communication with Rosie was at 23:56 when she replied to a Facebook message from Araine saying that she would be back ‘in a bit’, accompanied by a smiley face. She later opened and read another message from Ariane at 01:01 on Sunday morning but did not respond. It is thought Rosie took her own life a short time later.
Out of the blue
Rosie was happy living and working on the Island. She was a loving and caring friend who was funny, happy and the life and soul of the party. She was fun to be around but never used drugs and was always professional.
Caroline Rose, a HR Manager for PGL at the time of the incident, described Rosie as being reliable, well presented and noted that staff only had good things to say about her. There was no evidence to support claims of bullying from another staff member, which featured heavily in today’s inquest.
It was on Sunday 23rd that Rosie had sent a photo to her mum saying her day at Cibo and then by the creekside in Wootton had been ‘very good’. Her mum raised no cause for concern in the lead up to her daughter’s death and Google Search history has since shown that Rosie had started an application to join Edinburgh University to complete a Masters degree, showing forward thinking.
Julie Johnson, Rosie’s mum, told the court she was ‘bewildered’ by Rosie’s actions and misses her greatly. She also extended her heartfelt thanks to the Police, search and rescue teams and the public for the time and dedication given in looking for Rosie.
Senior Coroner for the Isle of Wight, Caroline Sumeray, summarised the inquest by saying:
“Rosie was on the cusp of life. She had just completed a degree and had a really bright future ahead of her.
“She was talented, bright and popular. She very much blossomed when she was at PGL and the accounts I have from her boyfriend and friends show she was kind, loved and funny and all the things you would want in a young lady. She was also beautiful and I say that because someone was very unkind to her and that played on her insecurities, which shook her confidence. But that wasn’t by any means the reason this happened.
“There was a meeting set up and it clearly bothered Rosie. Whether it was made clear to her that she didn’t have to attend isn’t entirely clear but suffice to say it was clearly playing on her mind. For her, it was a big deal.
“I am satisfied that whatever the last conversation was between Sinead and Rosie it made her more distressed for the meeting with Sinead and the management the next day. She had become distressed and fixated on the meeting that night and went for a walk to clear her head. She went with rope… why did she go with rope?
“My understanding of the evidence is such that I am satisfied that Rosie got into a sad place and did something tragic”.
A conclusion (verdict) of suicide was recorded.
Mrs Sumeray suggested to PGL’s solicitor that any future letters to staff regarding mediation, explaining that such meetings are voluntary, may go some way to improve the situation for people like Rosie as she believed she had to attend. This was agreed in principle.
The inquest was originally listed to take place in 2020 but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, you can call The Samaritans in confidence on 116 123. Help is at hand when you need it - you don’t have to be suicidal to get in touch.
So sad that it would appear an incompetent hr dept are at least partially to blame for this tragic death.hr and management are there to look after employees and fully explain procedures and potential outcomes,this wasn’t done.
Unfortunately unions and the help they provide to employees are sadly on the wane,certainly in my time this would have been my first port of call.with a bit of correct advice things could have been so different.like I said ,so sad.
Very sad, and yet to me, still seems more to this.
What a waste of a beautiful and clever person. I am sure someone knows more than the trial has heard.
Whatever too late now. RiP
Rip Rosie and condolences to her family
it’s a real shame to think such a beautiful talented thoughtful and kind lady took her own life because she couldn’t see any other way out of that situation and hopefully PGL now have things in place to deal with this kind of problem
How extremely sad RIP
How utterly tragic. My heart goes out to Rosie’s Mum, friends and colleagues who obviously did appreciate her. R.I.P.