Body found in hill search for missing walker
THE body of a pensioner who went missing while hillwalking alone was believed to have been found yesterday after a two-day search.
A huge rescue operation was launched following the disappearance of the 65year-old near Lochnagar, in the Cairngorms.
The man – who has not been identified – was last seen heading into the range, near Ballater, Aberdeenshire, at 2.30pm on Friday.
He raised the alarm himself after getting into difficulty at around 7.30pm that evening.
Around 80 members of three mountain rescue teams, an RAF helicopter and search dogs battled heavy snow, 100mph winds and darkness as they combed the area.
A body was discovered around noon yesterday, police confirmed.
Formal identification was due to take place today but officers said it was ‘believed to be that of the missing person’.
Just hours earlier, Aberdeen Mountain Rescue posted a video online of the hazardous conditions during the search on Saturday night.
It showed rescuers wearing head torches bracing themselves against a blizzard.
Inspector Darren Bruce, of the South Aberdeenshire com- mand area of Police Scotland, said: ‘Trained mountain rescue teams have worked tirelessly and in extremely difficult conditions this weekend. It is sad to learn that someone has succumbed to the elements. Our thoughts are with family and friends at this time.’
On Saturday, he said: ‘Weather conditions at this time of year can be challenging for the most experienced of walkers and climbers and today we’ve seen extremely high winds.’
On its Facebook page Braemar Mountain Rescue Team described the search as having faced ‘testing conditions’. Yesterday’s discovery comes after a month of severe winter weather in Scotland, with 59 avalanches being recorded in the north of the country since the beginning of the season.
The Scottish Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) has issued a warning to walkers and climbers following the incidents.
In Inverness-shire, a mountain rescue team was also looking for a missing climber who is believed to have fallen around 1,600ft to his death on Ben Nevis.
Despite more than 500 man hours of searching, Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team last night said it has so far failed to find any trace of the man in Observatory Gully, on the mountain’s North Face. It is believed the climber has been buried by an avalanche.
He was seen to go over the edge near the 4,411ft summit last Sunday. His two companions were rescued.
The SAIS said the risk of avalanche this season in the Lochaber area – which covers Ben Nevis – is ‘moderate’.
It warned walkers and climbers to be aware of triggering an avalanche and reminded them that overhanging snow also poses a deadly risk.
In 2016, thick snow meant rescuers spent two months searching for missing climbers Rachel Slater, 24, and Tim Newton, 27, who were buried by a massive avalanche coming out of the same gully on Valentine’s Day.
‘Succumbed to the elements’