Army officer to appear in court over drowning of cadet, 14, on exercise

THE family of a teenage army cadet who drowned in a boating exercise say they are a “step closer to justice” after it was revealed an officer is to appear in court in connection with the incident.

Kaylee McIntosh, 14, from Fyvie in Aberdeenshire, died when a vessel capsized in Loch Carnan, South Uist, in August 2007. The youngster, who was given the wrong type of life jacket, was trapped beneath the upturned boat and died while a frantic search was carried out for her.

Following the findings of a fatal accident inquiry published in 2009, her parents, Derek and Lesley McIntosh, demanded that criminal charges be brought against the cadet force officers and the army top brass they hold responsible for her death.

Last year it was announced that a new investigation had been launched by Northern Constabulary and the Health and Safety Executive.

A man is due to appear at Inverness Sheriff Court on Wednesday in connection with the case. The Crown Office declined to reveal his identity or details of the charges. However, it is believed it is Major George McCallum, who was responsible for Kaylee’s boat during the exercise.

Mr and Mrs McIntosh yesterday repeated their calls for the criminal proceedings to extend beyond one person. According to the family, there were failures to take account of the weather forecast, coupled with a regime that supplied adult life jackets to children.

In a statement, the couple said: “This development takes us one step closer to getting full justice for Kaylee. We welcome the fact that criminal charges are to be brought. We’ve waited so long for this and fought so hard – there were times we felt that criminal charges would never come.

“This man is just one of a number of people who have questions to answer for the death of our daughter and we will keep on campaigning to make sure that everyone responsible answers for their actions.

“We have had four and a half years of pain, anger and frustration not knowing whether we would ever see criminal charges. This announcement is progress and we hope to see more of it to get full justice for our daughter.”

Glen Millar, the family solicitor, added: “It’s a positive step and one that will go at least some way to seeing justice served, but more needs to be done.

“It wasn’t just one person who was involved in this incident: responsibility extends well beyond the now accused in terms of the FAI and MAIB [Marine Accident Investigation Branch] findings.”

Kaylee was a member of the 2nd Battalion the Highlanders Army Cadet Force, which was taking part in an annual summer camp in Benbecula.

She was in one of three rigid raider craft on the loch when officers decided to turn back due to worsening weather. Kaylee’s boat overturned, throwing her and others into the water. She was one of four people trapped under the upturned hull, but the only one unable to escape.

Her life jacket had a buoyancy three times the limit of those normally supplied by the MoD for youngsters, which prevented her submerging to get under the boat and clear.

After the capsize, officers miscalculated the numbers and thought everyone was safe. Only when a head count was taken 90 minutes later was it realised Kaylee was missing. The FAI heard a number of failures contributed to the tragedy.