A major land, sea and air search for a missing Mearns kayaker who vanished from a harbour has been stood down for the evening.
Concerns were raised for Dominic Jackson when he failed to return to his home in Fettercairn from a sea kayaking trip to Portsoy on Sunday.
The alarm was raised by Mr Jackson’s flatmate at about 10pm.
The 35-year-old had left his home on Friday to travel to Portsoy Harbour where police later discovered his Volkswagen camper van but found no kayak.
A rescue operation was scrambled on Sunday which involved a helicopter, lifeboats from Banff, Buckie and Macduff, along with 12 Coastguard personnel and five police units.
The coastguard personnel from Banff, Portsoy, Buckie, Lossiemouth and Burghhead resumed their search at 8am on Monday before being stood down again at 6.15pm. They are expected to resume their efforts on Tuesday morning.
The search area extends from Buckie in the west to Macduff in the east and up to two nautical miles out to sea.
Mr Jackson’s brother, Stuart, and father Jeremy, travelled to Portsoy to join the search as concerns grow for his safety.
His sister Ellie, who lives in Australia, said Mr Jackson has only recently taken up the sport.
“We are absolutely worried sick.
“My brother, Stuart, and father Jeremy, have went to Portsoy and joined the search.
“We have put out an appeal on Facebook and a lot of his friends are helping as well.”
Inspector Ewan Strachan said: “Intensive coastal searches will continue this morning extending east and west from Portsoy Harbour with assistance from the coastguard.
“Concerns are obviously growing for Dominic’s safety and wellbeing and we urgently want to trace him.”
Mr Jackson’s kayak is multi-coloured, with a blend of purples, blacks and whites.
