A search operation was launched by the emergency services on Monday night after a member of the public alerted police to an elderly man “behaving strangely” as he walked on Broughty Ferry beach.
Police were told the man may or may not have gone into the water close to the lifeboat station, prompting the launch of the inshore and all-weather lifeboats as well as patrols along the shoreline by the coastguard.
Shortly after the search got under way at 9pm a police spokesman said, “There was a sighting of a male on the beach and we are still trying to establish his whereabouts.
“He was thought to be under the influence of alcohol. We received that report from a member of the public. The man is believed to be in his 60s or 70s, well-dressed and of average build.”
Several police units including dog handlers assisted the RNLI crew and coastguard as they patrolled the Tay and shoreline from Douglas Terrace to the beach. Lifeboat deputy launching authority Tom Miller said, “Nobody actually saw him enter the water but he was seen acting strangely and it was procedure.”
After an hour-long search both the lifeboat crew and coastguard stood down.
Coastguard station officer Lindsay Martin stressed the man was not necessarily drunk at the time he was seen on the beach.
“We’ve got to take everything into account and cover every aspect of what may have happened and been seen,” he said.
“We’ve had a major search of the foreshore and continued to the east.
“We can only assume he’s fine and headed north into the town.”
Police units continued to patrol the shoreline after the on-duty inspector was informed the coastguard had completed their search with negative results.