The family of a kayaker found dead after setting off from Portsoy last weekend has spoken of their heartbreak and shock.
Dominic Jackson tragically died at sea whilst on a solo trip along the Aberdeenshire coast and sparked a massive land, sea and air search until his body was recovered from the water near Lybster on Thursday.
Now Dominic’s father, Jeremy Jackson, has spoken of his gratitude to everyone involved in the search and the “fantastic” community of Portsoy.
Father of six and resident of Uckfield in Sussex, Mr Jackson had been on holiday in Cumbria when he got the call to tell him Dominic was missing. He said: “I jumped straight in the car and headed to Portsoy.
“The community around Portsoy have been fantastic. We even had locals out using drones to search.
“Sadly, it turned out to be a search and recovery mission instead of search and rescue. But despite our family’s anguish, we have been touched by the community spirit.”
The family had mounted a high-profile search campaign with Dominic’s sister, Ellie, keeping well-wishers informed through social media from her home in Australia. Ellie Jackson has now started an online fundraising page to create a charity in her brother’s name to promote the use of Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) among outdoor enthusiasts.
Miss Jackson believes the death was “completely preventable” and states: “We feel the public has little awareness of how inexpensive technology such as PLB’s can be used to prevent tragedies like this and Dom’s family would like to use his legacy to prevent any other family having to go through the pain of such a senseless waste of life. “
Since starting the page, almost £6,000 has been raised towards the new initiative.
To donate please go to: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/domjackson
