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GP plunged 300ft to his death in Lake District at spot where he proposed to wife 27 years earlier

Doctor’s body found following a three hour search operation near Striding Edge

Matt Mathers
Monday 14 February 2022 13:44 GMT
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Jamie Butler joined Manchester City football club in 2007 as a medic
Jamie Butler joined Manchester City football club in 2007 as a medic (Ostenil )

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A GP plunged 300ft to his death when revisiting a mountain ridge in Cumbria where he had proposed to his wife nearly three decades earlier.

Dr Jamie Butler, who worked as a medic for Manchester City football club, fell from Striding Edge in the Lake District last November.

An inquest heard he fell when mist descended on the mountain, resulting in poor visibility.

Dr Butler, 54, proposed to wife Margaret on the same spot 27 years earlier in 1994, she said.

The couple, from Altrincham in Greater Manchester, had been walking up the mountain together to revisit the beauty spot.

They set out early on the afternoon of 2 November 2021. When they reached the start of the ridge, Ms Butler became tired and decided to stop.

She and Dr Butler agreed that he would reach the summit of the ridge before returning to her. But he failed to return and Ms Butler contacted emergency services shortly before 5pm.

Striding Edge in the Lake District
Striding Edge in the Lake District (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A search was conducted and Dr Butler's body was discovered near Nethermost Cove some three hours later.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

In a statement to the inquest in Cockermouth, Ms Butler paid tribute to her “loving husband”.

He had two twin boys “who he adored”, she said. “He will be forever missed. He died doing what he loved.”

Dr Butler studied medicine at Liverpool University and became interested in neurology and surgery during his postgraduate studies.

He then became a neurosurgical registrar in Oxford before training as a GP.

Following a stint with Sale Sharks rugby union team, Dr Butler joined Man City as the club’s assistant doctor in 2007 and was appointed senior medical officer in 2009.

Coroner Kirsty Gomersal said Dr Butler died from multiple injuries. She recorded an accidental death.

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