Missing Scottish pensioner uses motorbike wing mirror to flag down rescue helicopter near Ben Bhraggie in Scottish Highlands
A Scottish pensioner reported missing in the Highlands overnight was rescued after using his motorbike wing mirror to flag down a rescue helicopter.
George McGowan went mountain trailing in the Ben Bhraggie region near Golspie on his Beta Alp 200 motorcycle on Monday morning.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdA major search and rescue mission was launched to find the 77-year-old, after he failed to return home later that afternoon.
Assynt Mountain Rescue search teams crawled the hillside on Monday evening, with help from coastguard and police helicopters, but found no trace of Mr McGowan.
Efforts resumed early on Tuesday morning, and, nearly 24 hours after he was reported missing, Mr McGowan was found.
It later emerged that the pensioner had used his motorbike wing mirror to signal his location to a police helicopter that was flying overhead.
John Murray, a local businessman who had joined the search for Mr McGowan, speaking to The Press and Journal, said: ““They found him because he was waving the mirror of his motorbike.
“The helicopter pilot said had he not done that they wouldn’t have seen him.
“He was just at the back of the Ben. He was in a kind of plantation bit where they were doing new fences.”
Explaining his decision to join the searches, Mr Murray said: “We were concerned, particularly the kind of day it was on Monday as it was not very nice.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“We had heard it was somebody local and on a motorbike, and somebody that was elderly. That’s what spurred us on.”
Mr McGowan was treated by paramedics at the scene, but it not thought to have suffered any major injuries.
Chief Inspector Jamie Wilson said: "We are grateful to all of the public volunteers who helped with our enquiries, as well as our partners from Assynt Mountain Rescue Team, HM Coastguard, the fire service and SARDA for their assistance with searches."
In a post on Facebook, the Assynt Mountain Rescue Team wrote: “We would like to thank all those involved, especially local community support with transport and food and coffee.”
A message from the Editor
Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.
The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism.
Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.
By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.
Joy Yates
Editorial Director