HOPES are fading of finding a young Western Isles sailor alive after he went missing following a Christmas Day party.
Simon Macmillan has not been seen since Boxing Day. About 200 volunteers braved freezing conditions to scour roads, ditches, moorland and shores for the 21-year-old.
But as overnight temperatures plunged to freezing, concerns for his safety were growing last night.
Mr Macmillan, the son of the head of the Storas Uibhist community group which owns South Uist, returned for the festive break at late notice having only recently begun a career with the Merchant Navy.
Search parties were mindful of the tragedy in the area almost four years ago, in which five members of a local family drowned during a devastating hurricane.
Last night family friend and local councillor Peter Carlin admitted people were now “fearing the worst”.
He said: “You could not find a more sensible and lovely guy than Simon. It would not be like him to go off-road. It was very cold the night he went missing, but Simon was well capable of walking home. He is a fit young man. Ironically, he ran the road circuit the night before.
“His family are bearing up remarkably well in the circumstances but we are all fearing the worst now, however we won't give up until we find Simon.”
Residents joined coastguard crews, police and RAF sniffer dogs on Saturday and Sunday in an effort to retrace Mr Macmillan’s last known movements.
He got off a minibus in the Linique area of Iochdar, a few miles from his Ardmore home, at 3am on Friday – Boxing Day – after attending a dance at St Peter’s Hall in Daliburgh in the south of the island.
It is understood he saw a friend home before setting off for the three-mile walk to his parents’ house.
Volunteers offered their help after police urged householders to check their gardens and outbuildings in case Mr Macmillan had sought shelter. Described as 5ft 10in and slim with short black hair, he was wearing a black shirt, blue jeans and black trainers.
There was no obvious shortcut for him to have taken from his friend’s home. The simplest route would have been to follow the village road.
Stornoway Coastguard search helicopter used a heat-seeking infra-red camera, while other coastguard crews and volunteers scoured the area.
Islanders also used canoes and inflatable boats to scour lochans and quad bikes and 4x4 vehicles to cover rough ground. People searched well into the night.
Mr Macmillan disappeared in the area where Archie and Murdina Macpherson, their two children Hannah and Andrew and Murdina’s father Calum Campbell perished while trying to flee the January 2005 hurricane.
Police and coastguards said the weather was good when Mr Macmillan was dropped off. A coastguard spokesman said: “It is like he has disappeared off the face of the earth.”
Mr Macmillan was due to rejoin his ship, Acergy Falcon, on Saturday.
He had not initially intended to spend Christmas on the island. Having recently completed his early studies at Glasgow Nautical College, he joined a pipe-laying ship in Norway about three weeks ago as a trainee deck officer. At late notice, he received a few days’ leave.
Mr Macmillan’s father, Angus, is a well-known fish farmer and managing director of organic producer West Minch Salmon. His mother Elizabeth, a teacher, is originally from Barra. He also has a younger brother.
One local said: “We are all concerned after all this time that something may have happened to Simon. He is a very well-liked lad who is always well-behaved and responsible. We are worried because that area at Iochdar is known for being soft and boggy. There have been tragic ac-cidents in the area before.”
Anyone with information about Mr Macmillan’s whereabouts should call police at Lochmaddy on 01876 500 328, or any police station.