Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Friends of missing Aviemore man Rodrigo Falcon use private investigators and divers as they ‘try to stay hopeful’

Best friend and housemate Scott Fleming said: "It doesn't seem to get any easier as time goes on, it's still a struggle. It's the not knowing."

Rodrigo Falcon has been missing for more than a year.
Rodrigo Falcon. Image: Police Scotland.

Friends of missing Aviemore man Rodrigo Falcon won’t give up hope of finding him.

The 33-year-old disappeared four months ago following a night out. Despite a massive search operation by police and his local community – no trace has been found.

Rodrigo Falcon smiling
Rodrigo Falcon is missing from Aviemore.

Private investigators have also joined efforts to help find him.

Rod’s best friend and housemate Scott Fleming said people were trying to stay positive.

Scott said: “The private investigators are still working, looking into certain things. We are trying to stay as hopeful as possible.

“It’s still really difficult for everyone. It doesn’t seem to get any easier as time goes on, it’s still a struggle. The not knowing.

“We won’t let Rod be forgotten about.”

Wearing a red jumper and jeans

Rod spent a night out dancing with friends in The Vault nightclub in Grampian Road, Aviemore on December 11.

He was in good spirits that night, but not drunk or staggering.

Rod left the club without his jacket. He was seen on CCTV walking on Grampian Road in the opposite direction of his home.

Wearing a red jumper and jeans, he could be seen heading south past the Premier Inn, and possibly walking onto the A9.

Rodrigo Falcon.

The last confirmed sighting was at 3.15am at the Premier Inn. Initially, it was thought that he had gone to a party. But the alarm was raised when, uncharacteristically, he didn’t show up the next day to the Pine Marten Bar, where he works with Scott.

It was a cold night and police believe that footprints in the snow heading towards the A9 were Rod’s.

Initial searches concentrated on that area. But huge searches of the surrounding area have since been carried out.

A volunteer dive team from Lancashire recently carried out searches in areas not covered by police.

Two members of Beneath the Surface travelled to Aviemore.

Volunteer dive team from England helped out searching smaller lochs

Scott said: “We didn’t publicize it because we didn’t want them to be interrupted.

“They had a look in some of the smaller lochs police haven’t looked in.

“Police searched from Loch Insh down the River Spey to the Spey Valley Country Club golf course. So Beneath the Surface searched the river from the golf course to Boat of Garten.

“They were amazing people. There are four altogether and two of them came up.”

Contact details for anyone with information which may help

Scott added: “They are two of the nicest people I have ever met. They are saints. We put them up in the hotel and they were so grateful. They said they usually stay in pods or tents. It was quite overwhelming.

“As terrible a situation as it potentially is or could be, they were so genuinely nice. They understood what we are going through. It gave me a boost.”

The Argentinian national moved to Aviemore more than eight years ago. He has been described as a very happy, popular member of the community.

Anyone with any information can contact the private investigating team anonymously on 0800 887 0111. Text 07458 644 100 or email rod@mm.st with any information.

Are you interested in more exclusive and breaking Highland and Islands news from The P&J? If so, why not join our dedicated Facebook page.

Conversation