A group of metal fans were reportedly “rescued” by police in Scotland at the weekend after a passerby mistook them for members of a suicide pact cult.

The group – consisting of three adult men, two 10 year-olds, a 7 year-old and a dog – had been camping on an island in Loch Leven, Perthshire.

According to The Guardian, the three men had been drinking beer around a campfire, while their children slept in a tent, when the incident occurred on Sunday night (April 8).


The emergency services are said to have launched a full-scale rescue operation, calling in a helicopter, fire engines, ambulances and lifeboats, after a tip-off from a member of the public.

Police boats travelled across the water to rescue the group, while the windows of one of the group’s cars were smashed in an apparent attempt to find a suicide note.

When interviewed by police, the men were told there had also been concerns about a potential kidnapping.

“For some reason the police had received a tip that we might be in grave danger and they came to rescue us,” Panagiotis Filis, a lecturer and founder of the Black Metal Brewery, told The Guardian. “They really did a great job of rescuing us, the only issue is that we didn’t need rescuing.”

“The amount of resources they threw at it was just ridiculous,” added civil engineer Ross Anderson. “It felt to me that they were all pumped up and ready to take on something when there was nothing to take on.”


The third adult of the group David Henderson, a teacher and musician, told The Scotsman that the rescue team “kind of made us feel as if we did something wrong, but we just like to go wild camping, drink beer and listen to heavy metal music.”

Henderson suggested the group had been profiled due to their music taste and fashion choices. “Because we were all dressed in black and look like heavy metal fans, people sometimes assume we are dangerous,” he said.

One of the children described the ordeal as “quite frightening because I thought they were going to arrest someone”.

The group claim that, after questioning, they were left on the shore and forced to sleep in their cars.

A statement from Police Scotland reads: “We were called regarding a concern for a group of people on Sunday at around 19.00. Inquiries were carried out, along with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and they were all traced safe and well at around midnight.”