A police helicopter and a specialist search dog have been used in Highland Perthshire in the hunt for a missing pensioner as concerns grow for his safety.
Chief Inspector Mike Whitford, the area police commander for Perth and Kinross, told The Courier that the helicopter flew the length of the River Tummel and that posters have been put up in Pitlochry asking the public for their help in tracing William Elder, 81.
Mr Elder was last seen leaving his sheltered housing complex in James Court in Pitlochry at 10.45am on December 10.
Police previously used a sniffer dog and scoured CCTV tapes in the hunt for Mr Elder but Mr Whitford yesterday said there were now a “number of lines of inquiry”.
“We used a helicopter to cover the River Tummel from Pitlochry down to the confluence with the Tay and we were able to use a single scent dog, from the search and rescue team, to help in the search for Mr Elder,” he said.
“We are liaising with the mountain rescue team and have inquiries ongoing across Scotland.”
Sergeant David Patton, from Pitlochry police station, had previously talked of Mr Elder’s passion for angling.
“Mr Elder was a keen fisherman and we know he went visiting to the waterside regularly, down to the dam area,” he said.
Anyone with informationis asked to contact the police by calling 101.