'Unanswered questions' remain over 20-year-old student Matthew Jordan found dead in lake

Matthew Jordan, 20, accidentally separated from friends on a night out in Bowness and disappeared during the early hours of March 27.

His body was not found until 20 days later despite boats and divers combing the lake and mass searches of the area.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The inquest at Kendal’s County Hall was halted on Monday (October 20) after the barrister for Matthew’s family complained of too many ‘gaps’ in his last movements.

Lawyer Kieran Rainey told a Cumbria Police witness: “You’ve got a blank spot on this and you’re giving evidence today which is completely divergent to what the family understands.”

Mr Rainey, who worked on the Bloody Sunday inquiry, told the Gazette afterwards, there was a significant ‘gap’ between Matthew last being seen and him ending up in the lake.

Coroner Ian Smith said he did not want the family to go away ‘unhappy’, but warned all the answers may never be known.

A new inquest will now be held at a date to be arranged and plans to hear from more witnesses including a mountain rescue team and a specialist dog handler from Manchester, among others.

Matthew’s mum Claire, 43, told the inquest her son was good at directions and she could not understand how he ended up on Rayrigg Road.

It is heading away from Bowness and in the opposite direction to where Matthew was staying at Orrest Cottage, which is around a mile away in Windermere.

“There’s still a gap and we are still adamant people have seen him on Rayrigg Road that night and that Matthew would have asked them for help,” she said.

The family remain mystified as to why Matthew’s iPhone - found on his body in the water - still works despite apparently being underwater for 20 days.

His wallet also contained £43 - more than enough for a taxi.

A bruise on Matthew’s head was found during a post-mortem examination but a small cut to his eye was ‘missed’.

Several ‘figures’ in ‘groups’ on the streets that night had not been traced, a detective said.

Matthew, a Teeside University student, had travelled from Middlesbrough with three friends on a trip to the Lakes.

The group ate and drank at pubs including The Stag’s Head Hotel where they inadvertently split up around midnight.

Matthew was directed to the toilets after being sick and he was last seen at the The Hole Int Wall, which was closed.

Friends Michael Blakey, Jordan Gill and David Russell said he had drunk around six-and-half pints of lager, some shots and half-a-bottle of wine.

His post-mortem showed he was two-and-half times the limit, which wasn’t sufficient to kill him, the inquest was told.

While he was described as ‘swaying’, witnesses said he was sufficiently ‘coherent’ to ask for help.

The last contact his flat iPhone had with the network was at 12.31am.

Mr Jordan had not been drinking regularly due to a fitness regime, the hearing was told.

His cause of death remains ‘unascertained’ - partly due to decomposition.

He was found in water at Rayrigg Wyke, just off the A592 on Rayrigg Road near the Windermere Steam Boat museum.

CCTV footage showed its security lights activating around the time of his disappearance but no people or animals are seen.

A man caught on camera walking through St Martin’s churchyard close to where Matthew was has never come forward.

Consultant pathologist Dr Nicholas Mapstone is unable to explain bruising on Matthew’s head.

“There are a number of things I didn’t find and it leaves me with a problem,” said Dr Mapstone, before adding: “Although it’s not uncommon in drowning.”

“There was no definite evidence of drowning but that doesn’t exclude drowning. Two possible causes are drowning and hypothermia.”

The bruise was not serious enough to be fatal but ‘was caused when he was alive’.

However, Dr Mapstone said it could also have been caused by his position in the water.

But the consultant pathologist found ‘no evidence’ of assault.

Det Sgt Andy Lamb, of Cumbria Police, said the operation was ‘comprehensive’ with hundreds of statements taken and CCTV footage examined and the largest in Cumbria in years.

DS Lamb said: “Has someone hit Matthew? I’ve certainly not come across any material or any witness that suggests that.

“I think, having heard all the evidence and reviewed all the statements, the hypothesis which has the most likelihood is that Matthew has been drunk, perhaps fallen over, and ended up in the lake and to do that, he would have had to cross a field.”

Asked how Matthew’s body ended up where it did, DS Lamb said: “It’s fairly common in Windermere - it has a strong current underwater and various vegetation that someone could get caught up on, or move around.”

Bernadette Jackson, for the Kendal-based Arnold Greenwood solicitors who are representing the family, said in a statement: “There is no criticism of anyone in this matter. The issue is that, there is a gap in the evidence for the period between Matthew leaving the ‘Hole in the Wall’ to the time when he entered the lake.

"We understand that there is further evidence which was not produced at the inquest and we will be requesting sight of that evidence in the hope that this will provide a clearer picture of events.”