A SOLDIER texted his mum to say sorry and ask her to look after his wife hours before he was found dead in woodland a year after his brother drowned. Elizabeth Reid, 61, desperately tried to contact her son Robert McAvoy after receiving the message on Monday night. Despite a major search, Robert, 39 — […]
A SOLDIER texted his mum to say sorry and ask her to look after his wife hours before he was found dead in woodland a year after his brother drowned.
Elizabeth Reid, 61, desperately tried to contact her son Robert McAvoy after receiving the message on Monday night.
Despite a major search, Robert, 39 — whose brother John drowned last summer — was found dead in woods yesterday morning.
Anguished Elizabeth, of Cumnock, Ayrshire, said: “Robert sent a text message asking me to look after his wife Emma.
“He said he was sorry and that he loved me.
“I tried to phone him straight away but there was no answer. I left message after message.
“My brother said everyone was out looking — the police, a helicopter and half his base.
“They found him and it was too late.”
The Royal Engineer, originally of nearby Netherthird, was discovered eight miles from his new home in Bovington, Dorset.
Robert, who joined up at 16 and had a son Connor, 14, from his first marriage, died one year before he was due to retire.
He saw things in Afghanistan people shouldn’t have to see
Elizabeth Reid
Despite the toll of tours in “every hotspot”, Elizabeth insisted she didn’t blame his beloved Forces — and said he’d also struggled after the death of his sibling.
She said: “The Army was his life. But he saw things in Afghanistan people shouldn’t have to see — children blown up. That troubled him a lot.
“He was a private person. He put it aside and went on without dealing with it. Big boys don’t cry and all that. I don’t blame the Army or anyone else.”
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Elizabeth, who said Emma was devastated, added: “We’d fall out like all mothers and sons.
“But after John died we put the past to rest.
“He was a beautiful son and my heart is breaking so bad. No mother should go through this.”
Robert’s uncle Richard Barrie said the war vet – who’d dreamed of setting up an outdoor adventure business — was “loved by everyone”.
Among online tributes, Alastair Lindsay urged fellow soldiers in trouble to reach out for help.
He wrote: “RIP Rab. Take note others who are suffering. Talk about it. Life is too valuable.”
Cops probing the death said it was not suspicious.
An Army spokesman added: “We can confirm a soldier has died while off duty.
“Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans on (free) 116123.
