Lachie Jones inquest: Police dog handler who pulled boy from water gives evidence

Lachie Jones was found by a police dog handler and his dog Gee. Image / NZME

The police dog handler who pulled the body of Lachie Jones from the water says the police dog did not locate a scent until about 30m-40m away from the boy’s body.

The first of two 15-day fixtures of a coroners inquest into the death of the Gore 3-year-old concluded last Wednesday, but Constable Lachlan MacDonald’s statement was released to media on Monday after being held in a closed court due to health reasons.

On the evening of January 29, 2019, Lachie was found face-up in a council oxidation pond near his home.

MacDonald’s two police statements and a transcript of his evidence in court were provided to the media, detailing his work with police dog Gee.

Lachlan Jones, 3, was found dead in an oxidation pond in Gore in January 2019.

In a police statement, MacDonald said he arrived in Gore at 10pm to assist in the search for Lachie.

As he searched Grasslands Rd with Gee, he observed the dog behaving as if there were a “jumbled scent” in the area before they arrived, determining that Lachie was not in the area, and he decided to move south as he was advised there were ponds in the area.

He said upon arriving at the gate to the ponds, he did not observe Gee indicate or give any change of behaviour that would indicate a person had gone over the fence.

“I climbed over the small wooden fence next to the gate, lifting Gee over the fence,” he said.

He said he was unable to say whether Lachie’s full nappy or bare feet would have affected Gee’s ability to locate a scent.

He allowed Gee off her tracking line to work freely alongside the ponds.

“My thinking at the time was to clear the ponds so we could search other areas.”

The inquest into the death of Lachie Jones was held by Auckland-based Coroner Alexander Ho. Photo / Southland Times, Stuff

He said as he walked past the south end of the north pond, he noticed initially subtle changes in Gee’s behaviour and then noticed an object in the water.

“Gee picked up airborne scent rather than scent on the ground about 30 metres from where the object was.”

He identified the object as Lachie, and went on his knees at the water’s edge and grabbed him by his leg.

Lachie was lying parallel to the water’s edge, facing south. He was on his back with his hands near his shoulders and his head just underwater, while his knees were slightly above the surface, MacDonald said.

When he pulled Lachie from the water, there was white foam in his mouth.

“The foam kept coming out of his mouth as during my CPR compressions I was wiping it away of his mouth and face.”

He said he did not notice any rigor mortis had set in, or that Lachie’s limbs were frozen or stiff.

He said Lachie was cold to the touch, but not ice cold and likely the same temperature as the pond, and his lips were blue.

Lawyer Simon Mount KC at the Invercargill courthouse during the coronial inquest into Lachie Jones' death. Photo / Southland Times, Stuff

“I still believed there was a chance to save him at that time.”

MacDonald advised his supervisors and allowed them to know his location, and conducted CPR.

He then ran with Lachie along the river bank towards ambulance staff and stayed with the boy until he was declared deceased.

He later returned to the area where Lachie was found with other police and identified the area where he performed CPR.

The police hat Lachie had been wearing was floating in the water nearby.

Counsel assisting the coroner Simon Mount KC asked MacDonald if there were any signs that he believed would have indicated Lachie may have been placed in a freezer.

“No, there’s nothing that stands out to me. It was a boy in a cold pond,” he said.

Counsel for police Robin Bates asked about birds in the area that MacDonald had mentioned.

He said there were ducks on the water at the south of the north pond and the north of the south pond.

The next phase of the inquest is scheduled for August this year.

Ben Tomsett is a Multimedia Journalist for the New Zealand Herald, based in Dunedin.