Body found in search for teenager missing at Fife quarry

Police had warned of the dangers around the quarry in Inverkeithing, Fife after previous incidents. Picture: Hemedia

Police received a report of an 18-year-old man in the water at Prestonhill Quarry in Inverkeithing, Fife, on Thursday night.

The teenager has been named locally as John McKay.

A Police Scotland statement said: “Inquiries are ongoing to confirm the man’s identity and to determine the full circumstances surrounding this incident.”

John McKay, 18, from Kirkcaldy, Fife. Picture: Facebook/Hemedia

Emergency services launched a search operation, involving a helicopter, police officers and the fire service.

They failed to find anything at the time but yesterday morning divers recovered a body from the water.

One diver entered the waters down an embankment and brought the body to land, before it was put in a black body bag. Forensics officers were still at the scene.

The teenager was found wearing a blue and white jacket, black tracksuit bottoms with a white lining and trainers.

The quarry is the same place where Burntisland teenager Cameron Lancaster died in August last year after jumping into the water from cliffs above.

Following his death, police issued a warning to youngsters to avoid swimming in disused quarries.

Local councillor Dave Dempsey said the latest tragedy has shocked the local community. He said: “It’s a tragedy. It’s just incredibly sad and the community reaction is shock.

“It’s such a horrible thing to happen. Our thoughts are with the family.

“We do not know the precise details yet so it’s difficult to draw any conclusions. The facts are sketchy and the primary focus is with the police.

“Now that this has happened twice, we need to take a serious look at what is happening here.

“The fundamental problem is that the site is not in council ownership – it’s privately owned.

“However, my immediate response to this is that we need to look much more intensely and see whether there is something we can do.

“My assumption is that the council will look again very closely at any measures it can take to do something about the site.”

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland confirmed a body had been recovered but could not confirm whether Mr McKay had died.

She said: “Police in Fife conducting search activity at the Prestonhill Quarry have recovered a man’s body.

“Officers were responded along with other emergency services at the site in Inverkeithing after around 9:20pm on Thursday following reports of an 18-year-old in the water.

“Inquiries are ongoing to confirm the man’s identity and to determine the full circumstances surrounding this incident.”

Tragic Mr Lancaster, a pupil at Inverkeithing High School, drowned after plunging over 60ft into freezing water at the quarry last year.

The 18-year-old, who lived in Burntisland, never resurfaced and the emergency services recovered his body four hours later.