The sister of missing man Shaun Ritchie has planned a touching tribute to her brother on what will be his 21st birthday.
Shaun disappeared more than six months ago near Strichen following a night out with friends over Halloween.
A massive search by police and specialist rescue teams has yet to establish the whereabouts of the Fraserburgh man with his father, Charlie Reid, offering an award of up to £5,000 for any information that can bring his son home.
Now, Shaun’s sister, Nicole Shand, 18, has planned a birthday celebration at the town’s beach next Saturday to commemorate what should have been a happy day for her family.
Last night, Ms Shand said the experience of living without her brother for the last six months had been almost unbearable.
Ms Shand, also of Fraserburgh, said: “It’s been horrible, even having to arrange his birthday without him, it’s just terrible.”
Earlier, it emerged that a 999 call was received by police on the night that Shaun disappeared from the Greenburn area.
However, police were called back and told they were not needed and officers did not attend.
Ms Shand added: “To find out that a call was made was even more shocking.
“It’s been really good of Charlie to offer the reward, because it gets Shaun back in the minds of everyone. Maybe someone will come forward now, but there’s still been absolutely nothing yet.
“I just want to get everyone down to the beach at 1.30pm on Saturday, the 16th, and celebrate his 21st.”
Ms Shand plans to release balloons at the beach to mark her brother’s special day.
As well as offering the reward, his father has also launched a Facebook page to continue to campaign for information about Shaun.
Mr Reid said: “I am not interested in finger pointing and blame, I just want to find Shaun.”
Inspector Stuart Drummond, the senior officer leading the inquiry into the disappearance, earlier stressed there is no evidence to suggest that Shaun has been the victim of a crime.
