The wife of an international rugby star has gone missing while wild swimming in Scotland, raising worries that she committed suicide.
Shortly before 3 p.m. on Tuesday, September 3, authorities reported Jenny Hastings, the wife of Scottish rugby player Scott Hastings, missing at Wardie Bay, Edinburgh.
The U.K. coastguard received a “report of concern” at 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday and “coordinated the search for a woman in the water at Wardie Bay, Edinburgh,” according to a statement people obtained.
The Coastguard Rescue Teams from Fisherrow and South Queensferry dispatched the HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Prestwick. The RNLI’s inshore lifeboats from Kinghorn and South Queensferry assisted, as did neighboring vessels. ” At 8.20 p.m. on September 3, the HM Coastguard called off the search.
Police Scotland told people that they received a complaint about a lady in the water and that searches were underway.
According to a family statement obtained by The Times, Jenny, 60, may have committed suicide.
“(She) struggled with her mental health for several years and was ultimately unable to cope on this occasion,” the statement added, according to The Times.
“It appears that she intended to end her suffering in what was a familiar and comforting environment for her. She liked the ocean, but her mind was not in a secure place,” according to the statement.
“The Hastings family is completely distraught. We long for Jenny’s safe return, hoping to honor her extraordinary life.
According to The Times, The Guardian, and the BBC, police are treating her absence as a “high-risk missing person case.”
“Scott, Corey, Daniel, Kerry-Anne, and Ian” took credit for the comment. Scott, Jenny’s 59-year-old husband, played for the Scottish national rugby team from 1986 to 1997 and traveled with the famed British and Irish Lions in 1989 (Australia) and 1993 (New Zealand).
Jenny also went missing for 36 hours in 2017, according to The Times, the Guardian, and the BBC. Eventually, a police station discovered her without a phone, 10 miles from her house, where she sought assistance.
Jenny told The John Beattie TV Program in June 2017 that she needed to be away from everyone. I felt like I was in everyone’s way, and I needed to take some time away without telling anyone. I did not wish to contact anyone.”
According to The Times, Jenny attempted suicide in 2014. Jenny opened up about the event in 2014, telling The Guardian that she had “just wanted to die and end it all,” adding that she felt she was doing her children and husband Scott a favor and that “they would be better off without me.”