One year on: Police in Beauly renew appeal over missing man James Paton last seen driving his silver Dacia Duster at Ruttle Woods, near the River Beauly, where he was going to walk his dog
One year on from the last sighting officers in Beauly are renewing their appeal for information regarding the whereabouts of 73-year-old James Paton.
Today is the first anniversary of when he was reported missing from his Beauly home – he was last seen around 1.30pm on Monday, December 23, 2019.
He was driving his silver Dacia Duster at Ruttle Woods, near the River Beauly, where he was going to walk his dog.
His car was traced there around 4.30pm that same afternoon with his spaniel collie cross dog inside, but there was no trace of Mr Paton.
He is described as white, 5ft 8ins tall, of stocky build, with grey hair and a beard. He wears glasses and, when he was last seen, he was wearing black trousers with a purple jumper, a green fleece jacket and brown boots.
“We miss Jim daily and are extremely upset that a year has now passed with no signs of him.We are very grateful for the support and concern shown to us by our local community, and hope that this anniversary appeal may jog someone’s memory" - family statement
Sergeant Brian Bisset, of Beauly police station, said: “Since Mr Paton was reported missing one year ago, extensive enquiries and rigorous land and water searches have been carried out in order to trace him, however despite our efforts he is still missing.
“During our searches we have been assisted by specialist resources including police dogs, our Dive and Marine Unit, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Dundonnel Mountain Rescue Team, HM Coastguard helicopter and members of the local community.
“This is a very upsetting time for Mr Paton’s family. We remain committed to finding James and would urge the local community, who have been very supportive, to continue to assist us by passing on any information which could help our investigation.
“Our enquiries to locate him are continuing and we will be following up any information we receive. I would again appeal to anyone with any information that may assist our investigation, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to contact 101 quoting reference number 3111 of December 23, 2019.”
A family spokesman said they would like to pass on their heartfelt thanks to the agencies and people who have helped in the search for him and added: “We miss Jim daily and are extremely upset that a year has now passed with no signs of him.
"We are very grateful for the support and concern shown to us by our local community, and hope that this anniversary appeal may jog someone’s memory and urge anyone with information to contact police as it could be crucial in locating him.”
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