Killin team rescue stranded walker
Man trapped in woods during evening stroll
Mountain rescue volunteers were called out after a man became stranded in thick woodland near Tyndrum on Friday night.
The walker, who is local to the area, went out for an evening stroll when he encountered difficulty in woods between the level crossing in the village and the Cononish gold mine.
Members from Killin Mountain Rescue Team were alerted to the problem after the man’s wife called the police concerned that he hadn’t returned home.
Volunteers rushed to the area at around 7.30am, and with the help of a search dog and some invaluable local knowledge, began combing over the woodland in search of the walker.
A coastguard helicopter from Inverness also assisted by searching vast open areas while the team concentrated on footpaths, tracks and wooded areas.
The man was eventually located just before midnight in thick woodland by a local police officer and team member, and led to safety.
Bill Rose of KMRT said: “It’s a popular area to walk through and all of the popular routes and paths had been checked so we knew he was hidden from us somewhere. We couldn’t get a signal on his phone either.
“It was a local officer who eventually found him after he heard him shouting. We think he might have seen our lamps, or heard the helicopter overhead, so started shouting for help.
“He was in amongst some thick timber and couldn’t make his way out. It can be difficult – especially when the atmos comes down, you can become isolated.
“We’re quite glad we got to him when we did as at around midnight the weather began to worsen with rain and some sleety-snow. It got worse through the night too.
“He was totally fine though. This wasn’t his fault at all, he did the right thing in contacting us and staying where he was. We were delighted to find him.”
Bill added: “There were 18 volunteers out on Friday and we had a good and quick response which helped us get him to safety.”
The following morning a number of volunteers made their way to Costwolds outdoor store to answer questions from members of the public and talk about the work done by KMRT.