Family ‘seeking closure’ after body of cyclist is found after three years
THE family of a cyclist who went missing three years ago have appealed for help to get “answers and closure” as officers launch an operation to gather more information.
Anthony Parsons, 63, known as Tony, was reported missing in 2017 while cycling for charity from his home in Tillicoultry, Stirlingshire, to Fort William.
He travelled south on the A82 and was last seen at around 11.30pm on October 2 outside the Bridge of Orchy Hotel.
On January 12 this year, specialist search officers, supported by forensic scientists, discovered his remains in a remote area close to a farm near the A82 at Bridge of Orchy.
Mr Parsons’ body has been recovered by the police and a post-mortem examination will be carried out in the coming days.
Mike Parsons, his son, said: “It is still so hard to comprehend that when he went on his charity bike ride three years ago that was to be the last time we would ever see him. He has been deprived of so many family events and it hurts us so much as a family to see his grandchildren grow up without their granddad. Now we know there won’t ever be an opportunity to see him again.
“We would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who looked for my dad, for never giving up and for giving us the opportunity to make sure he could come home so we could say our final goodbyes.
“We are extremely grateful to Police Scotland, forensic scientists, all the mountain rescue teams and everyone else involved in the investigation for their work in such difficult conditions and circumstances.
“I know we cannot get closure until we find out who did this and why it happened, so I would ask anyone who may have even the smallest piece of information to please speak to the police and help us get the answers and closure we need.”
PROTESTERS against the military’s seizure of power in Myanmar have returned to the streets of the country’s biggest city, a day after a call for a general strike closed shops and brought huge numbers out to demonstrate.
Numbers were down from Monday’s massive crowds, but around 1,000 people in Yangon had gathered at the city’s Hledan
Centre, a major meeting point for protesters, with other groups assembling at other venues.
In Mandalay, the country’s second-biggest city, a funeral was held for 37-year-old Thet Naing
Win, one of two protesters shot dead by security forces on Saturday.
He and a teenage boy were killed when police and soldiers opened fire on a crowd that had gathered to support dock workers whom the authorities were trying to force to work. They have been on strike, as have many civil servants and state workers, as part of a nationwide movement against the military takeover on February 1.
The military said it took power because last November’s election was marked by widespread voting irregularities, an assertion that was refuted by the state election commission, whose members have since been replaced by the ruling junta.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory at the polls, which would have installed her government for a second five-year term in power. However, the army blocked parliament from convening and detained Ms Suu Kyi and President Win Myint and other top members of her government.
The junta has said it will rule for a year under a state of emergency and then hold fresh elections.
There was a flurry of diplomatic activity abroad on Monday, as international concern about the situation remained high.
The United States and several Western governments have called for the junta to refrain from violence, release detainees and restore Ms Suu Kyi’s government. On Monday, the US said it was imposing sanctions against more junta members because of the killings of peaceful protesters.
Lt Gen Moe Myint Tun and Gen Maung Maung Kyaw were added to military leaders and entities facing US sanctions, and Britain and Canada have taken similar action.