Abuse Survivor Reported Missing Following Unsuccessful Anonymity Request

A survivor of abuse, who had previously relinquished his right to remain anonymous, has been reported as missing. This development occurred after the chair of an inquiry determined that his initial decision could not be retracted. Kevin Sutherland, aged 33, provided testimony to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) during 2022. However, Mr. Sutherland was informed last week that his attempt to retroactively withdraw his name from his distressing testimony, which had been made public online, was unsuccessful. A spokesperson for the inquiry stated that it was cognizant of a “possible tragic incident.” Concerns were first raised at 01:50 on Thursday, following Mr. Sutherland’s publication of an extensive “final announcement” on a social media platform. He wrote: “The amount of red flags that have been ignored by absolutely everyone to allow me to get to this final point is unforgivable.” Police Scotland verified that officers were still carrying out a search of the River Forth, in the vicinity of the Queensferry Crossing. The RNLI reported that lifeboats dispatched from Kinghorn and Queensferry participated in the search operation but were subsequently withdrawn at 05:00 on Thursday. During his childhood and adolescence, Mr. Sutherland resided in care facilities located in Edinburgh, Musselburgh in East Lothian, and Paisley in Renfrewshire. Within the impact section of his 60-page statement to the inquiry, he stated: “There has been no aftercare whatsoever and I’m surprised I’m still even alive after the hell that whole system has put me through.” Giles Moffatt, a co-founder of an abuse survivors’ organization, mentioned that Mr. Sutherland initially reached out to him via WhatsApp on November 27. The communication indicated that he was encountering difficulties in his efforts to have his name anonymized. Mr. Moffatt commented: “The nub of the problem was that he had signed a waiver of anonymity originally and the waiver that he signed did not point out that his name would appear very quickly in a search online.” He further noted that Mr. Sutherland was “horrified” upon discovering his statement through a Google search. Mr. Moffatt additionally informed BBC Scotland News that the inquiry’s waiver document has since been amended to include a warning that an evidence transcript “may appear prominently in online searches.” He stated that Mr. Sutherland had been experiencing “distress” regarding this matter for several months and confirmed that the inquiry’s most recent rejection occurred on Monday. Subsequently, Mr. Moffatt received a final WhatsApp message from Mr. Sutherland at 01:34 on Thursday. He recounted: “His message was very much: ‘Don’t let my life be in vain. Please ensure that people get to hear my story because I am not being listened to by this inquiry.'” An inquiry spokesperson stated: “We have been made aware of a possible tragic incident involving an individual who has been engaging with the inquiry.” “Our thoughts are with all those who have been affected.” For the sake of transparency, SCAI intends to commission an independent review promptly to examine all facets of its engagements with the individual.