Angler dead and brother missing as day out ends in tragedy
A PENSIONER has died and his brother is missing after a fishing trip turned to tragedy.
The men, named locally as Stanley Livingstone, 68, and Colin Livingstone, 81, set off on Tuesday to catch trout in the Loch of Boardhouse on Orkney.
Neighbours raised the alarm after the pair failed to return the next day, sparking a major search operation involving a rescue helicopter and three Coastguard teams.
Last night, Police Scotland confirmed the body of one man had been recovered on the shoreline of the loch, near the parish of Birsay, and a boat had been found a short distance away. The second fisherman is missing, feared dead, with searches of the area surrounding the loch continuing.
Neighbour Alexander Black said: ‘The brothers were very keen fishermen, they went out singly and together, often to catch brown trout.
‘Stanley, who we all knew as Boyd, had his own boat which he kept outside his house and I saw him taking it out. We knew they hadn’t come back because we didn’t see any lights and a neighbour phoned the police.
‘It looks as if their boat must have sunk. They will be missed a lot.’
After being made aware of the men’s disappearance around 11.30am yesterday, police found a 4x4 car used by the brothers close to Nickel Point at the loch.
Emergency services personnel were sent to the scene, aided by members of the community who volunteered to help.
A rescue helicopter based at Sumburgh, Shetland, searched the area before it was stood down yesterday afternoon.
Coastguard teams from Kirkwall, Stromness and St Margaret’s Hope were drafted in.
Stanley Livingstone ran an environmental consultancy with his Russian wife, Galina, before retiring. His son, Boyd, who is believed to live in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, was said by a neighbour to be on his way to Orkney.
Mr Livingstone, who was originally from Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, moved to Dounby, Orkney, several years ago. It is believed his brother followed him to the village around two years ago.
Colin Livingstone was described locally as widely travelled. Like his brother, he loved dogs and was believed to have worked as an engineer in the oil industry.
Close neighbour Fiona Mitchell said: ‘I saw the police taking the dog of Colin, who lives across the road.
‘They were looking for keys to the house under stones.
‘It is absolutely tragic what has happened.’
In a statement, Police Scotland said: ‘Around 11.30am on Wednesday, August 3, police in Kirkwall were made aware of concern for two men from the Dounby area of Orkney who had failed to return from a fishing trip to a nearby loch on the afternoon of August 2.
‘As a result of an initial police response, the Jeep vehicle occupied by the two males was located near Nickel Point, Loch of Boardhouse, Birsay.’
It continued: ‘As a result of co-ordinated searching, the remains of one male were recovered on the shoreline of the loch. The boat used by the fishermen was also found and recovered a short distance from the remains.
‘The second fisherman has not yet been traced and searches of the area surrounding the loch are continuing.’
Local area police inspector Alicen Winston said: ‘Police enquiries are at an early stage in what appears to be a tragic accident where one male has died and another remains missing.’
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service sent two crews to the area, who helped with shoreline searches before leaving the scene around 3pm.
A spokesman for the Coastguard and Maritime Agency said: ‘The UK Coastguard search and rescue helicopter based at Sumburgh carried out an extensive search of the area and has now been stood down.
‘The Coastguard rescue teams remain on scene. This incident is still ongoing.’
‘Searches are continuing’