An inquest into the deaths of Eddie Joseph Hill, 20, and Jayden Jackson Long, 19, both from Dereham in Norfolk, has heard that the pair attempted to contact emergency services while stranded on a treacherous mountain ridge during severe winter weather, but their call was not properly escalated by police. The bodies of both men were discovered by mountain rescue personnel on 19 February on Crib y Ddysgl, a ridge situated in Eryri, commonly known as Snowdonia, less than a mile north of Yr Wyddfa's summit.
According to evidence presented at Gwynedd Coroner's Court in Caernarfon, the abandoned 999 call originated from Long's mobile phone approximately three hours before the alert reached mountain rescue teams. A police professional standards officer acknowledged that although control room staff made attempts to reconnect with the caller,
the incident wasn't escalated as it should have been, and that there had been
learningfor personnel to pass such calls to mountain rescuers more promptly for assessment.
The inquest, which opened on 27 February 2026 when the senior coroner requested post-mortem examinations, has now progressed to a full hearing after the coroner concluded there was reasonable cause to suspect both deaths were unnatural. The hearing on 10 September 2026 examined the circumstances surrounding the men's final hours and the emergency response that followed.
What happened on the mountain?
The two friends were walking on Crib y Ddysgl, a ridge that peaks at 1,065 metres (3,494 feet) and connects Yr Wyddfa to the notoriously narrow and hazardous Crib Goch scramble. Philip Benbow, lead co-ordinator of Llanberis Mountain Rescue team, described the conditions on the ridge as
full winter conditions. He told the court that Long's family had indicated he had previously walked in the Lake and Peak Districts but that this was his first visit to Eryri.
Although the pair wore spiked footwear, they lacked crampons and ice axes, equipment that would have been essential for the terrain and weather conditions they encountered. Benbow noted that signage at various points on the mountain range warns that certain routes require experienced climbers, with Crib Goch specifically marked as an
extreme scramble.
How did the emergency response unfold?
Benbow was alerted by North Wales Police on the evening of 18 February to an abandoned 999 call made three hours earlier from a male believed to be on Crib y Ddysgl. At the time of the initial alert, insufficient information existed about either the caller's location or the nature of the emergency to justify an immediate deployment. Following further enquiries and contact with family members, mountain rescue teams and the coastguard helicopter searched the last known position of the two men but found no trace that evening.
A decision was made to resume the search at first light. On the morning of 19 February, a search and rescue dog team joined the mountain rescue teams. At 10:46, two members of the team spotted a possible trail in the snow, prompting the dispatch of a drone and the coastguard helicopter to the location. The bodies were subsequently found and their deaths confirmed.
What did the police investigation reveal?
Detective Constable James Lloyd from North Wales Police's professional standards department told the hearing that although control room staff attempted to make further contact with the 999 caller, the incident was not escalated appropriately. He acknowledged that the force had identified learning opportunities for staff to pass similar calls to mountain rescuers sooner for assessment. However, Lloyd concluded that North Wales Police did not contribute to the deaths of the two men.
Long's father, questioning Lloyd via videolink, characterised the situation as
incompetence. The police response has since prompted the coroner to take formal action regarding the handling of emergency calls in such circumstances.
What was the coroner's conclusion?
Acting coroner for North West Wales Sarah Riley determined that both men died as a result of falling down steep mountainous terrain and sustained multiple traumatic injuries. She was unable to establish whether they fell together or whether one fell while attempting to assist the other. Riley recorded a conclusion of accident and, exercising her remit to prevent future deaths, indicated she would be sending a report to North Wales Police to address her concerns about the lack of action taken in response to the initial 999 call. The force has been given 56 days to respond to the coroner's findings.
What happens next?
The full inquest proceedings remain ongoing, with Gwynedd Council's coroner listings showing the case continues on the schedule. North Wales Police is expected to respond formally to the coroner's concerns within the specified timeframe, potentially leading to further procedural changes in how emergency services handle abandoned calls from remote or mountainous areas.
Key Facts
- Eddie Joseph Hill, 20, and Jayden Jackson Long, 19, from Dereham, Norfolk, died on Crib y Ddysgl on 19 February after falling on steep terrain during severe winter conditions
- The pair made a 999 call approximately three hours before mountain rescue teams were alerted, but the call was not escalated by police as it should have been
- Both men lacked crampons and ice axes despite the extreme nature of the ridge and the winter weather conditions
- The coroner has sent a report to North Wales Police highlighting concerns about the emergency response, with the force required to respond within 56 days
- The inquest continues, with the full proceedings remaining on the schedule at Gwynedd Coroner's Court
