An unmanned speedboat found adrift in Loch Ness has still not been claimed.
A driver travelling on the A82 Inverness-Fort William road saw the boat and called the Coastguard after spotting the powerful vessel at the no0rth end of the loch.
Loch Ness Lifeboat investigated at about 10.30am on Wednesday.
Volunteers Howie Whyte, Stuart Latham and Garry MacLeod took the Atlantic 75 class lifeboat to the scene, and identified the object as a 15ft speedboat with a large engine and wakeboarding gear aboard.
A search of the area was carried out for any casualties in the water and no one was found.
The speedboat had a tarpaulin cover on and it’s mooring rope appeared frayed and split. It is assumed that the vessel had broken free from it’s moorings during recent high winds and choppy loch conditions.
It is understood the boat may have been tied up in the Abriachan area but the owner has not come forward.
RNLI volunteer, Garry MacLeod said: “Our primary concern was that there may be a person in the water so we carried out an extensive area search.”
“We are very grateful to the mystery motorist who made the initial call, the situation could have been very serious and an early alert can save lives.”
Lifeboat volunteers, who all have their own day jobs, carry their pagers 24 hours a day and respond to requests to launch from the Coastguard.