Bethany Haines hopes Syria coordinates lead to father's remains
Bethany Haines has a set of coordinates for a suspected burial site in Syria, and she wants investigators to return with technical equipment to search for her father's remains.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
David Haines, a British aid worker, was executed by ISIS in 2014. His murder was filmed and posted online as propaganda. His body has never been found. His daughter Bethany was a child at the time and has since led a personal investigation into where he was buried.
During the US trial of two of her father's killers, Bethany received a message on social media from someone who claimed to have access to details from the investigation. The contact asked her to use Wickr and, over time, she and her team nicknamed him the Wicker Man. She first thought the approach was a hoax, but the source discussed case details that she knew and that were not public.
The source gave a chilling account of her father's final moments. He said David Haines was kneeling in the sand when he noticed Mohammed Emwazi wearing a watch and asked him to take it off. Emwazi laughed and asked why. David Haines said reflections or other aspects could be used to identify him or the site.
Bethany was suspicious of the information, so she tried to double-source it. When she confronted two of her father's killers in Syria, they refused to help. Later, while the men were in prison in the US, she was allowed to visit them. Alexanda Kotey confirmed the watch interaction word for word, according to the report.
The source also shared a set of coordinates where officials believed her father might be buried. Bethany has had the numbers for three years and keeps a map of the area on her wall. A human rights group worked with her for four years and identified a particular location alleged to be connected to the burial of David Haines.
After the Syrian regime fell, a team was able to visit the site. But it has not been allowed to return with the technical equipment needed for a proper investigation. The report said information is not being utilised and that some coordinates shared in the same manner have been credible. The investigation now needs approval from the new Syrian government to proceed properly.
For families of the missing in Syria, progress remains painfully slow. Bethany's investigation continues, with strong leads that few other families have. There is no confirmation that David Haines's body has been found.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| A team visited the site after the regime fell but has not been permitted to return with equipment needed for a proper investigation. | |
| Alexanda Kotey confirmed a previously secret detail about a watch in David Haines's execution. | |
| Bethany Haines was asked to use Wickr to contact a person who claimed to have information about her father. | |
| Officials believed David Haines might be buried at coordinates supplied by The Wicker Man. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The evening bulletin gives the fullest version of the investigation, building the story around Bethany Haines's personal search and the Wicker Man's account. It stresses the double-sourcing of the watch detail through Alexanda Kotey and ends with the stalled technical search at the identified site. The tone is sombre but cautiously hopeful, with the report framing the coordinates as a possible end point rather than a resolution.
- “This might be the point where we now say stop but it could also be the point where we reach the finish line.”
- “We can now reveal that after the regime fell, a team was able to visit the site, but they haven't been allowed to return with the technical equipment needed for a proper investigation.”
- “For three years, we've had this set of numbers.”
The late bulletin repeats the same investigation in a tighter package, keeping the focus on Bethany Haines's search and the source's coordinates. It highlights the prison confirmation from Alexanda Kotey and the fact that a site visit happened after the regime fell but technical access has not been granted. The tone is cautious and avoids claiming the body has been found.
- “This might be the point where we now say stop, but it could also be the point that we reach the finish line.”
- “We can now reveal that after the regime fell, a team was able to visit the site, but they haven't been allowed to return with the technical equipment needed for a proper investigation.”
- “Alexanda Kotey, in your meeting, confirmed this secret detail.”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
- 22:20 BST
Bethany Haines, David Haines' daughter
ITV News at Ten · Wed 21 Oct
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.