Scots sailor disappears from a Royal Navy ship while docked in Dubai

A Scots sailor has gone missing from a Royal Navy ship in Dubai.

Father-of-two Leading Seaman Timothy Andrew Maccoll, known as “Timmy”, was originally from Killin but now lives in Gosport in Hampshire.

The 27-year-old serves aboard HMS Westminster, which docked in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, on Saturday and departed again on Thursday.

Seaman Maccoll has not been seen since getting into a taxi at around 2am on Sunday after spending time at the Rock Bottom Bar at the Regent Hotel. The hotel is located in Deira, a 15-minute drive from Port Rashid, where HMS Westminster was docked.

He was alone when he entered the taxi and was last seen by a shipmate.

Seaman Maccoll is married with two children, aged six and four, and his wife Rachael is expecting their third child in October.

Mrs Maccoll issued a plea for help in finding her husband. She said: “We are appealing to the people of Dubai and reaching out to the large ex-pat community to help us find Timmy and raise awareness in that area. We are desperately worried. Checks have been made with hospitals, prisons, police stations, medical stations and mortuaries and there is no record of him and no sightings so far.

“I last spoke with Timmy at midday on Saturday and he was in really good spirits and looking forward to speaking with the children on Skype on Sunday. That call never happened. It is completely out of character for him not to contact us, and we are completely at a loss and going crazy with worry.

"Wherever Timmy is, I know that he wants to be found, he will want us to find him, we need people to help us do that. He may be in trouble somewhere, he could be trapped as far as we know, we have absolutely no idea. Please, please help us find him.”

The local authorities in Dubai are investigating the disappearance and the Ministry of Defence and Foreign and Commonwealth Office are liaising with local agencies.

A Royal Navy spokesman, Commander Mark Southorn said: “We have one sailor who is currently unaccounted for in Dubai; everything is being done to ensure that he is located safely. His next of kin has been informed. We are working closely with the local authorities and FCO representatives in the UAE to establish his whereabouts. We take great care to look after all members of the Naval Service wherever they serve around the world.”

He is described as white, 5ft 8ins in height, of medium build, with short brown cropped hair with a flicked fringe. He was last seen wearing a red Moto GP T-shirt, dark-coloured long shorts, and white trainers.

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