A Highland shepherd died after plunging 40ft from a clifftop on his quad bike.
The man, named locally as father-of-three Sandy Robbins, was tending sheep near Durness in Sutherland when the tragedy happened.
A passer-by raised the alarm after spotting his bike on a beach below the area where he was working at Daill on Cape Wrath.
The Stornoway Coastguard helicopter was scrambled to the scene to airlift him to hospital, but Mr Robbins could not be saved.
His wife Anne was away visiting family outwith the area with their young teenage daughter Sarah.
The couple also have two grown-up boys James and Tom, who live away. One is thought to reside in Canada.
Mr Robbins, who is in his 60s, lived at Rhigolter, about nine miles from Durness.
He worked for Balnakiel Farm looking after the flock of David Elliot, who has grazing rights at Cape Wrath.
He studied Ecology at The University of Edinburgh.
The cape is accessed by boat across the narrow Kyle of Durness.
Local Highland Councillor Hugh Morrison said Mr Robbins had lived in the area for more than 20 years.
“The community is in shock – people are devastated at the news,” he said.
“We do not know exactly what happened, but he went over the cliff somewhere between Daill and Achimore. It is a drop of between 40 and 45 feet there.
“Somebody saw the quad on the beach and raised the alarm.
“Sandy was a lovely man, dedicated to his work and his family and people are in shock. It is a tragic accident. The community sends its deepest sympathy to Anne and the family. It is obviously a devastating thing to happen to them.”
Shetland Coastguard were alerted to the accident at 1.36pm.
Coastguard ground teams were also dispatched to the area but were stood down after the helicopter collected Mr Robbins.
A police spokeswoman confirmed this morning that he had died overnight in Raigmore Hospital, Inverness.
A spokesman for Police Scotland said:”There are no apparent suspicious circumstances and as with all sudden deaths a report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.”
The death comes at a time when people are being asked to help buy the last bit of land the MoD does not own inside the country’s biggest bombing range.
At the centre of the unusual community buyout is just 111 acres around Cape Wrath Lighthouse.
But getting to the lighthouse, near the 900-feet highest vertical cliffs on mainland UK, is not easy.
It involves a seasonal ferry journey across the narrow Kyle of Durness and a 11 mile trip up a bumpy road. The only other route an 11 mile walk from near Kinlochbervie over rough, unmarked, but stunning, terrain.
But thousands of walkers and tourists head to the cape each year.
Three years ago the MoD was halted in its £58,000 purchase of the land from the Northern Lighthouse Board, which would have added to the 25,000 acres it already owns in the area
