Jackie Roberts has revealed she sensed her daughter had fallen in the river Ouse in York, days before she was found.
As the search for her daughter intensified, 49-year-old Jackie was drawn to the river’s banks, five miles from the York city centre spot where Megan was last seen on CCTV.
‘I’ve no idea why I chose that particular point to stop and search,’ she told the Mail.
“But as I stood on that bank, all I could think about was my daughter. I remembered her as a premature baby, so fragile and tiny at just 28 weeks. I thought of her taking her first steps as a toddler and her first day at school. I recalled how she hugged me goodbye as she set off for university.
“I knew the river had taken her. That she was no longer alive. But I knew we wouldn’t find her that day. Suddenly I felt very tired and turned to my friend who was with me and said: ‘Come on, let’s go home.”
Four days later on March 2, Megan’s body was discovered feet away from where her mother had been.
Police concluded that Megan, under the influence of alcohol, had become disorientated in the dark, taken a wrong turning and fallen into the swollen river.
‘Megan was not a binge drinker. She was a good girl from a good family who rarely drank at home. She was brought up to know alcohol is OK in moderation and to know your limits,” the mother-of-three reveals.
“Yes, she had been drinking that night with a large group of friends, but she was just like every other student in the UK.
“I expect all the bars in student area were promoting cheap alcohol. We know she was badly affected [by alcohol] that night but I haven’t had a toxicology report so I’ve no idea what was in her system.’
“I am concerned that these shots, like Jagerbombs, which students favour, are cheap and potent. The alcohol industry must look at helping change the binge mentality that seems to exist among younger generations, including why they almost seem to encourage people to drink to excess. Bar staff have a responsibility to not serve people who they can tell have had too much to drink. Selling them more alcohol is irresponsible.
“The last time I spoke to Megan was the day before she went missing,’ she says. ‘She told me she was looking forward to a night out in York and I texted her to say:
“Love you, bye sweetheart. Be careful!” ’
“I don’t blame anyone for what happened. It was a tragic freak accident.”
Jackie is now backing a campaign for improved river safety in the city. But for now, she will try to continue as normally as possible for the sake of her other children.