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Reece Rodger: Everything we know about disappearance of Fife dad on Perthshire camping trip

A timeline of events after a body was found in the two-month-long search for the 28-year-old.

a missing persons poster for Fife man Reece Rodger at Loch Rannoch
Fife man Reece Rodger, 28, disappeared while on a camping trip. Image: DC Thomson

A body has been found in the search for missing Fife dad Reece Rodger.

The 28-year-old industrial painter, who was originally from Rosyth but lived in High Valleyfield, was last seen camping with a group of friends on the northern shore of Loch Rannoch on March 18.

Despite some potential sightings in the hours after, there was no trace of the dad-of-two for more than two months.

Image of missing Fife man Reece Rodger.

Worried friends and family spent weeks scouring the area for any trace of him before tragic news broke that a body had been found on the shore of the loch on May 27.

We look at a timeline of events around his disappearance.


Timeline of Reece Rodger’s disappearance

  • SATURDAY MARCH 18

Reece – who had two children aged one and four – was last seen at around 11.30pm while camping on the north shore of Loch Rannoch, near Killichonan, with friends.

He was thought to have been heading for bed but the next morning there was no trace of him.

Reece was wearing a black long-sleeved t-shirt with distinctive white letters on both sleeves spelling out “MA STRUM”.

Reece wearing the same top he had on when he went missing. Image: Police Scotland

A man matching Reece’s description was sighted on the road between Liarn Farm and Aulic – a distance away from Killichonan – at around the same time.

  • SUNDAY MARCH 19

At around 8am, a man matching Reece’s description was reported to have been seen on the B846, approximately one mile east of Aulich.

It has not been established whether this person was Reece.

  • SATURDAY MARCH 31

A fortnight on from his disappearance, Reece’s family and loved ones organised their biggest search yet, with more than 200 people joining the effort to scour the area he vanished from.

Among those helping the effort was SAS: Who Dares Wins star Nadine Harkness and two men from England with a dinghy.

Volunteers taking part in the search for Reece Rodger at Loch Rannoch
Volunteers taking part in the search at Loch Rannoch. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson

Speaking to The Courier, Sarah Fraser – a relative of Paula’s – said there would be searches every week until Reece is found.

“Reece is a dad, a son, a fiance to Paula and a really lovable family boy,” she said.

“It is completely out of character for him to go missing, hence the amount of people who have arrived to help with the search.”

  • THURSDAY APRIL 6

Reece’s case featured on the new Channel 5 series Vanished: The Hunt for Britain’s Missing People.

Paula, along with Reece’s mum Glenda, appeared on the show – presented by Dan Walker – in front of a peak audience of about one million people.

Paula revealed her last phonecall with Reece before he went missing.

Paula and Reece’s mum Glenda on the series Vanished. Image: Channel 5

She said: “The last time I spoke to him was about 11.20pm (on March 18).

“I was actually working (in the pub) and it was busy so I couldn’t really hear him. He was asking me if I was alright, just normal conversation.

“In the morning I got a text from one of his friends asking if he was home.

“Something has definitely happened to him. If something bad hadn’t happened to him, he would be home.”

  • SATURDAY APRIL 8

Just a few days after the case featured on Channel 5, Reece’s partner Paula Airzee revealed fresh details about her “soulmate” and the Perthshire camping trip.

Paula posted the information on Saturday in Please Help to Find Reece – a Facebook group set up to find the missing Fifer.

She said he spent most of the day fishing on the north shore of the loch.

Police at Loch Rannoch Hotel during the search. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson

He phoned Paula throughout the day, saying he was having a great time but complaining about the weather.

In a phone call made at around 4pm, he told her he wanted to come home before changing his mind and saying: “I’ll be OK.”

Paula said Reece was a “home bird” who “always wants to go home no matter where he goes”.

  • FRIDAY APRIL 21

In her first interview with The Courier since Reece’s disappearance, Paula said she believed drivers who were in the area at he time he vanished may hold the key to solving the case.

She said: “All we have to cling to right now is the one potential sighting on the B846.

“What we understand is that a person who was travelling on that road stopped after spotting a person on that road.

Paula with a poster about Reece’s disappearance. Image: Kenny Smith/DC Thomson

“He then got out of the car to help but, by that time, the individual has unfortunately disappeared from view.

“The man was a male and was wearing black clothing matching what Reece was wearing that evening.

“We now know a number of cars passed following that potential sighting but unfortunately none of them have come forward at this stage.

“I’m urging those people who were on that road around the potential sighting to come forward, even if it they think they saw nothing at all.”

  • SATURDAY MAY 13

Phone data revealed new details about Reece’s movements on the night he went missing.

Paula said the data confirmed it was Reece that was spotted on the B846 at 11.30pm.

She said: “Further analysis has been undertaken of Reece’s phone and I can now confirm Reece was one hour and 20 minutes east of the campsite at 11.20pm on March 18.

Paula looking at a map of the area on Vanished. Image: Channel 5

“The phone signal was in the vicinity of where the potential sighting was, so I can also now confirm it was Reece seen at 11.30pm on March 18.

“This means Reece left the campsite a lot earlier than initially advised.”

She said search activity would now focus on shoreline and water searches, east towards the Loch Rannoch Hotel and “beyond out to the dam”.

  • SATURDAY MAY 27

Police confirmed a body had been found on the shore of Loch Rannoch in the search for Reece.

A police statement said: “Around 10.45 am on Saturday, the body of a man was discovered on the north shore of Loch Rannoch.

“Although the deceased has yet to be formally identified, the family of Fife man Reece Rodger, 28, who was last seen on the north shore of Loch Rannoch on Saturday March 18, has been made aware.

“A report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.”

  • FRIDAY JUNE 16

Reece’s funeral will take place at Dunfermline Crematorium.

Mourners have been encouraged to wear bright colours during the service.

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