A man found dead in his sheltered housing home called police more than 18 hours before he was discovered by his carer, his family has revealed.
The police watchdog is investigating the death of Albert Insch, 72, who died in Inverness’s MacEwan court despite managing to dial 999 on his mobile phone.
And now, the 72-year-old’s heartbroken family have spoken out about his death and what they have been told by investigators.
Mr Insch was found on Thursday, October 27, at about 8.45am.
But last night it emerged that he had called 999 from his mobile phone at 2.12pm the previous day.
His family has been told that “no service was requested and the call was not traced”.
The family has also been told that officers attended at the sheltered housing complex on October 26 but were sent to the wrong address.
In a statement last night Mr Insch’s family said: “It is very distressing to the family to think he may have been lying alone for hours waiting for someone who was never coming.
“At this point we have no idea what led to his death or if it could have been prevented if the police had just opened his door which was unlocked.”
Mr Insch was a retired electrical engineer who was proprietor of his own business Bert Electrical.
His daughter Karen last night described him as being a “popular” man who was known throughout the Highlands through his work.
He was musically gifted and could “play just about any instrument”, regularly entertaining other residents in MacEwan Court with his skills.
His death is now the subject of an investigation by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc), which is examining the police response to the emergency call.
A post-mortem was held following Mr Insch’s death but the results were inconclusive and the family are now awaiting the outcome of toxicology and histology tests.
The family first met representatives from Pirc on Wednesday, November 2, after registering Mr Insch’s death.
Daughter Karen Insch said at that point they realised police had attended as the men from Pirc asked whether her father had ever stayed at a different address in MacEwan Court.
It was confirmed that police had visited the sheltered housing but there had been a “mix up” and they had gone to the wrong address.
In a statement on behalf of the family, Ms Insch said: “They advised they would listen to the call which was received by the Stirling command centre to see what was said and determine where the police were told to go.
“They also advised that if dad had previous contact with the police, which he did due to some recent falls, they would have all his details and could have traced the call.”
The family has since been informed by residents at MacEwan Court that police did attend and did go to another door.
However, it was suggested that they were pointed in the direction of Mr Insch’s home after another resident overhead the officers speaking about a “Mr Albert”.
A spokesman for Pirc confirmed that Mr Insch himself had earlier called the emergency services.
He said: “The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has instructed the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner to undertake an investigation into the initial police response to a call from a 72-year-old man who was later found dead at a sheltered housing complex in Inverness on Thursday, October 27.
“A report on the commissioner’s findings will be submitted to the COPFS in due course.”
A police spokeswoman said: “Police Scotland is aware of the Pirc investigation and is fully engaging with the process and will await the findings.”
Mr Insch is survived by his wife June and his children Nicola, Karen and Albert.
His funeral will be held on Thursday at Inverness Crematorium.