Scottish “Heavy Metal Camping Trip” Disrupted by Unnecessary Emergency Rescue

Well, this is probably the weirdest true story you’ll hear today.

A group of seven Scottish metalheads — three adults, three children, and dog ironically named ‘Jazz’ — recently had their camping trip disrupted when authorities somehow came to the conclusion that they were actually engaging in a suicide pact.

No. Seriously. This is something that happened.

Apparently, the group went camping on Reed Bower Island, near the ruins of Lochleven Castle, where Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned in the 16th century. Then, according to Aberdeen’s Press and Journal, this happened:

“[A] passer-by onshore raised the alarm, worried that [the campers] had gone off to the island to kill themselves.

“A massive emergency response was launched, involving a search and rescue helicopter, several fire crews and boats.

“Police officers smashed their way into the group’s car parked at the water’s edge in search of a suicide note.

“Once on dry land, the campers – including a university lecturer and school teacher – were quizzed by police, who said they were concerned about a possible kidnapping.”

One of the campers, David Henderson — a modern languages teacher who also fronts a black metal band called Nyctopia — says that “It was a nice evening and one of the kids had already gone off to sleep” when “all of a sudden, it was like something from the X-Files.” Another camper, Ross Anderson — a lecturer at Aberdeen University — estimates that “There must have been about 50 to 70 people there, all coming to rescue us, even though we didn’t need rescuing.”

So yeah that’s bizarre.

In fact, it’s so bizarre I feel like we’re missing a piece of the story. Did the passer-by who reported the campers think they were enacting a suicide pact because they were wearing metal merch? Is Lochleven Castle known for being a suicide hot spot? Or is this just completely friggin’ bonkers?

In any case, Henderson says the story has a happy ending: “When they realised we were just a bunch of good friends taking our kids on a heavy metal camping trip that was the end of it.” Also, Nyctopia got their demo posted by a fairly prominent metal media outlet, so there’s that.

Thanks: Charlie F.