Portsmouth coroner concludes 'unusual' inquest into the death of grieving father Stephen Waring who died after unexplained trip to Derbyshire

Stephen Waring, 58, was found dead in the early hours of October 24, 2021, in Ashwood Dale Railway Tunnel, near Buxton in Derbyshire.

An inquest at Portsmouth Coroners' Court heard how Stephen's mental health deteriorated in the four weeks leading to his death, after his beloved daughter Samantha died on September 21, 2021.

The 36-year-old had died of multi-organ failure at Queen Alexandra Hospital.

Her death came on the same day that the grieving father had lost his daughter Caroline 30 years before – a coincidence that felt like ‘a cruel joke’ to Stephen, according to records read at the inquest.

Despite telling health professionals repeatedly that he intended to end his life after Samantha’s funeral, a post-mortem found no signs of serious self-harm on Stephen nor were there signs that he had been injured by a train or a fall, according to Coroner Jason Pegg.

With no history of rough sleeping and no insight into why he had chosen to travel from the city to Buxton, the coroner gave an open conclusion – meaning that there is insufficient evidence to decide how his death came about.

At the inquest, Stephen’s sister Rachel described her brother as a ‘lovely’ and ‘bubbly’ man and a devoted father, who then became introverted and depressed after the tragic deaths of his children.

She said: ‘Years ago, he was lovely, he would go on holidays all the time. He was bubbly, he kept himself fit.

‘But he lost two daughters. The first time we thought it was going to destroy him, but he seemed to come through it. But you never get over it. It just changed him.’

She added that her brother’s reason for visiting Buxton remained a mystery to his family.

Rachel said: ‘We have all thought about it over and over. There’s nothing. I cannot think of any reasons why he would be there.’

Stephen was last seen on CCTV in Buxton at 10.18pm on October 16.

Coroner Jason Pegg offered his sincere condolences to Stephen’s family and said his death was ‘an unusual case’.