Age: 40
Sex: female
Date: 9 Nov 1955
Place: River Witham, Boston
Dorothy May Scott was found dead in the tidal portion of the River Witham in Boston on 17 October 1955.
Her body was found floating in the river by a labourer that had been working on the Swing Bridge at about 4.40pm on 17 October 1955.
A police constable was called out to Doughty Quay soon after where he saw her body after it had been removed from the water.
An investigation was carried out, but the police were unable to shed light on how she came to be in the river other than determining that she had come to Boston on 3 October 1955 by bus, arriving at about 9.35pm. However, they said that they knew nothing of her movements after that.
The pathologist said that her death was due to drowning and that she had died about ten to fourteen days earlier.
She had lived on Glead Farm in East Keal with her husband and mother.
Her mother said that Dorothy Scott had a gastric illness that used to return each year at about the time she died. She said that she last saw her at about 8.30pm on 3 October 1955 when Dorothy Scott told her that she had taken two doses of her medicine and then went round to the back of the house.
Her mother said that Dorothy Scott had been very happy at home and had no reason to want to take her own life.
A verdict of found drowned was returned.
see www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
see Boston Guardian - Wednesday 09 November 1955, p9
see Lincolnshire Standard and Boston Guardian - Saturday 05 November 1955