Dad’s £20k plea to f ind missing girl 34 years on
A FATHER has offered £20,000 of his life savings as a reward to help find his daughter who went missing 34 years ago. Alison MacDonald was 19 when she vanished while on holiday with friend in the Himalayas.
Her family have since campaigned tirelessly and spent thousands of pounds to find out what happened to her.
Her father, Reverend Kenny MacDonald, 80, and mother Reta, 77, believe she is still alive and have made 17 trips to the region in their relentless search.
They have now launched a fresh appeal – a poster campaign with a £20,000 reward, promoted on Facebook and via website www. letsfindalison.com.
Miss MacDonald, from the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, was backpacking in the Kashmir region of India with her friend Liz Merry. In the village of Sonamarg, Miss Merry decided to go on a two-day trip to see the Kolahoi glacier, while Miss MacDonald, who was a student at Aberdeen University, stayed behind.
On August 17, 1981, she went for a walk and was last seen buying apples from a trader.
Her clothes and rucksack were found in her room and her family were told of her disappearance six days later. Kashmiri police later closed the case after failing to find any clues.
Her father, a retired Free Church of Scotland minister who suffers from multiple sclerosis, thinks she was kidnapped but believes he will see his daughter before his failing eyesight leaves him blind. Speaking from his home in Golspie, Sutherland, Rev MacDonald said: ‘We thought it was worth trying.
‘When she first disappeared we offered £7,000 as a reward and it produced some leads but none of them led to Alison. We have been reluctant since to offer a cash reward because it might attract
‘I pray that I will see Alison again’
the wrong person. But we have now decided to use our family savings as part of using every means possible to find Alison. We have a reconstruction of how we think Alison looks now.
‘I am willing to travel to India or wherever to find her. I am sure she is still alive and I pray that I will be able to see Alison again one day, hopefully soon.’