Police fear missing quadbike woman was swept away

POLICE fear a woman who went missing while riding a quadbike through farmland near Dumfries may have fallen into a burn and been swept away.

Linda Weir was last seen at around 8.30am on Monday morning when she took a quadbike out across land near Crairieknowe Farm, Thornhill.

A search by police, Moffat Mountain Rescue team and Nith Inshore Rescue recovered the quadbike but found no sign of the 58-year-old woman.

Chief Inspector Alan Glendinning, of Dumfries and Galloway Police, said it now seemed likely that Mrs Weir had been swept away while trying to cross Burnsands Burn, which was swollen by heavy rainfall.

He said: "What appears to have happened is that she was crossing a burn and has been swept away.

"We have been searching the area we suspect she entered the water and along the banks of the River Nith. It's a fairly extensive area."

Chief inspector Glendenning said Mrs Weir would have been using the quadbike for transport rather than leisure purposes.