THE BODY of missing hillwalker Dr Alastair Boyd was yesterday recovered from a remote Perthshire beauty spot, writes Mark Mackay.

It is understood that family members were present in the area as search and rescue teams brought Dr Boyd down from the hills.

The discovery was made at around 12.30 pm by members of the Tayside Police search and rescue team and the Search and Rescue Dog Association.

It appears that he had fallen in an area north of Bridge of Balgie, near Coire Bah.

The Dumbarton GP was reported missing at around 9.30 pm on Tuesday, having left his home at nine that morning.

He was last heard of walking in the Glen Lyon area and had intended to walk up Meall a Choire Leith.

An experienced and properly equipped walker, he was scouting the area for a club event later this month. His car, a silver Vauxhall Zafira, was found by the police at Bridge of Balgie.

Yesterday the searchers were hampered by heavy rain and a strong wind.

The area was also subject to severe flood warnings for stretches of the River Lyon.

Dr Boyd’s body was discovered as the search was being scaled down.

At its height the police search and rescue team, led by Superintendent Iain Bell, was joined in the area by a search and rescue team from RAF Leuchars, a civilian mountain rescue team and the search and rescue dog team.

There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death. A report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal in Perth.

Tayside Mountain Rescue team leader Alfie Ingram last night praised the search and rescue teams involved in the four-day operation.

“We were joined by the Tayside Police search and rescue team with three dogs, the RAF mountain rescue team and a helicopter from Prestwick on Wednesday—and we had to operate in horrendous weather. It was very wet and very windy.

“The conditions eased a bit on Thursday and we extended the search to include 84 people, including the Killin Mountain Rescue Team, a helicopter from RAF Kinloss and members of Dr Boyd’s climbing club in Dumbarton.

“We scaled the search down to specific areas using five dogs from the search and rescue dogs team, and it was one of the dogs that found Dr Boyd.

“He was found about a mile north of the summit of the mountain, near Bridge of Balgie, in Glen Lyon.

“I would have to say there was a great deal of inter-team co-operation on a difficult incident due to the weather and ground being so wet and stormy.”