Police appeal for information over disappearance of man in dinghy

Skippers are being urged to check shorelines as the search for man in a dinghy who has not been seen for two days continues.

The last sighting of Andy Samuel, 59, was when a member of the public saw him going from his yacht into his dinghy off Kinloch, on the Isle of Rum, at about midnight on Tuesday.

The member of the public raised the alarm at about 10pm on Thursday when they realised the man had not moved his yacht to another location as expected, the coastguard said.

Nobody was aboard the yacht and no trace has been found of the man or dinghy.

Inspector Isla Campbell made an appeal to for information on Friday as the search for Mr Samuel continues.

“If you live in the island communities nearby, please check your outhouses in case Andy has taken shelter there. Similarly I would ask skippers to keep an eye out and check shorelines,” she said.

“I would urge anyone who thinks they may have seen Andy or the dinghy around that area since Tuesday night to get in touch with police.”

The HM Coastguard helicopter from Stornoway, coastguard rescue teams from Mallaig, Eigg, Muck, Kyle, Dunvegan and Portree and the RNLI lifeboat from Mallaig carried out a search for the missing man on Thursday.

The RNLI lifeboat from Tobermory continued the search on Friday alongside Police Scotland officers.

The force said anyone with information should contact them on 101, quoting reference 3866 of September 1.