Rescuers describe 'huge' search for missing hillwalker on Skye in BBC documentary

Mountain rescue volunteers put in over 350 hours in the search for an experienced hillwalker who disappeared on the Isle of Skye last year.

Roderick (Roddy) MacPherson was reported missing on June 4 last year after he was last seen outside the Sligachan Hotel.

The 67-year-old’s body was found in the Cuillins mountain range on June 7 with help from “eyewitness reports and a bit of detective work”.

The search has featured on BBC’s Highland Cops, with the Skye Mountain Rescue team describing it as one of two “huge searches” they undertook last year.

Recalling the search, the team described it as stretching over several days and initially hampered by bad weather.

Sharing on social media, Skye Mountain Rescue said: “This was one of two huge searches we undertook last year, with our team alone putting in over 350 volunteer hours. The programme gives a bit of an insight into just how much time and effort can go into searching for someone missing in the Cuillin.

“As with many searches covering such a huge and complex area, it can really be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Initially, all we knew was that Roddy had been caught on CCTV walking past the Sligachan Hotel.

“Beyond that, we had no idea what route he’d intended to take, and from Sligachan there are a huge number of possibilities.”

The group said the initial searches included Red Hills around Glamaig and Marsco.

Following eyewitness reports and using his mobile phone data, searchers were able to narrow the area down.

They added: “The phone data suggested he’d made it up onto the Cuillin ridge before the signal was lost. The lack of coverage in Harta Corrie gave us another clue as to where he might have gone.

“We believe his intended destination was the summit of Bruach na Frìthe, but at some point he descended into Harta Corrie as the weather deteriorated and daylight faded.

“Whether this was on his way up or on his way down, we’ll never really know.”

Police said there appeared to be no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.