As the major search for a young Sutherland man enters its third day, police are trying to ascertain if a pair of trainers found near Dornoch belong to the missing man.
Lachlan Simpson, who was 22 yesterday, vanished after a county show dance in Dornoch on Saturday night. He was last seen at 1.30am on Sunday morning outside the marquee tent at the village Links.
It is understood that the green coloured canvas shoes similar to Converse footwear, were found on Tuesday evening next to the sewage treatment works beside the Struie Golf Course, but in the opposite direction from Mr Simpson’s home in Embo north of Dornoch.
Search co-ordinator Chief Inspector Colin Gough said: “It may or may not be Lachlan’s footwear. We will continue to explore this. We are not 100% at this stage. We are wanting to ask his friends about the footwear.”
Following the shoes discovery dog handler Charlie MacLeod, of the Search and Rescue Dog Association, searched the sewage treatment works with his dog Meg.
Police said yesterday Mr Simpson made phone contact with friends shortly after the dance and said he would meet them in Dornoch before going to a party in his home village of Embo, but he never turned up in either place.
A huge land, sea and air search has been ongoing since Tuesday morning for the young commis chef and local people have turned out in large numbers to help scour the foreshore and countryside.
Mr Simpson lives with his father in Embo while his mother lives not far from Embo, at Skelbo.
Yesterday Lyn Gordon, who was depute rector at Dornoch Academy when Mr Simpson was a pupil there, spoke of her sadness at the situation. Mrs Gordon said: “It is a horrible thing when a young person goes missing like this. Lachlan was a very polite and well mannered young man and was very popular with the staff and his peers.
“He was very sporty and loved the outdoors. I got to know him well through the rural skills programme, which involved learning about different aspects of agricultural work.”
Yesterday more than 100 community volunteers gathered to assist in line searches of the sand dunes and Camore Wood.
A police helicopter also searched the coastline from Loch Fleet to Dornoch Bridge, focusing on the dunes at the Links.
The RAF Lossiemouth Mountain Rescue team, police and search and rescue dog handlers continued searches.