Mum of missing Scots botanist travels to Vietnam

Missing botanist Jamie Taggart, from Argyll and Bute. Picture: PA

Jamie Taggart, from Argyll and Bute, failed to return from an expedition to the northern, mountainous region of the country 17 months ago.

Jill Mary joined local tribespeople and police for fresh searches this week but they found no sign of Mr Taggart.

They had hoped to recover evidence such as his leather boots or day sack as they try to establish what happened to the 41-year-old.

It is now thought he may have been attacked and his belongings disposed of.

His mother said: “The search is over. We have no good result. We are very disheartened.”

Before his disappearance Mr Taggart ran Linn Botanic Gardens in the village of Cove on the Rosneath peninsula.

He set off on a trip from his hotel in the Sa Pa district on October 31 2013. It is believed he left an official route in search of rare orchids or rhododendron.

His passport was found in the hotel and he failed to check in for a scheduled flight home to Scotland the following month.

Poor visibility caused by low cloud hampered this week’s searches, which began on Sunday.

Mr Taggart’s friends and the local community in Cove and Kilcreggan have raised thousands of pounds to fund searches for him, with actor Hugh Grant, whose family used to live in Linn Gardens, making a donation.