A man’s body has been recovered from Loch Tay after a stunning summer’s day turned to tragedy.
Holiday-maker Darren Gilpin, 29, believed to be visiting from the Edinburgh area with his family, was in a two-man kayak when it capsized on Loch Tay in Highland Perthshire on Saturday.
Police last night confirmed a body had been found.
A spokesman said: “Police Scotland can confirm that the body of a male person was recovered by police divers from Loch Tay near Killin. Investigations into the incident are still ongoing.”
A major emergency operation was sparked by a call from a member of the public at around 4.40pm after they spotted two men getting into difficulties.
As concerned members of the public looked on, one man was seen to free himself from the canoe and strike out for shore.
He made it to safety but, to the horror of all on the shore, Mr Gilpin disappeared beneath the surface.
Police were swiftly joined at the scene by a search and rescue team and ambulance crews, together with a Helimed and specialist fire and rescue units.
They began an urgent search of the loch, aided by other water users, many from the nearby Loch Tay Marina.
It continued for some hours, but as darkness fell there was still no sign of Mr Gilpin and the search sadly had to be called off.
Police divers from the underwater search unit arrived at the loch on Sunday morning to continue looking for him, but without the hope that had filled rescuers the previous day.
They were joined by a number of Scottish Fire and Rescue units, together with their own water launch, while local officers continued to carry out a search of the southern shoreline, near Killin.
A spokesman for Police Scotland said: “We received the first call from an extremely panicky member of the public who reported that they had seen a kayaker in difficulties on the loch.
“One man had been able to swim back to the shore but the other, a 29-year-old man, had disappeared beneath the surface.
“Every possible resource was thrown at the rescue operation, including the Helimed, with doctors on board.
“Sadly, there was no one for them to work on.”
The police spokesman added: “We are extremely grateful to the large number of local people who helped with the search until dark”.
It is understood Mr Gilpin’s distraught family members, who had visited the area with him, were in close contact with the police throughout.
Among the would-be rescuers were staff and visitors at the Loch Tay Marina, who took to a variety of craft to aid the emergency efforts.
One said: “We did have a number of boats out and we were determined to help the police as much as possible.”