Relatives of missing Fife dad Reece Rodger have described a “hard-working, loveable family boy” a fortnight after he was last seen.
More than 200 people joined the search effort in the Loch Rannoch area on Saturday, where the 28-year-old industrial painter, from Rosyth, disappeared on a camping trip with friends.
Sarah Fraser, a relative of Reece’s partner Paula Airzee, has been helping organise searches.
Spending more time with sons
She told The Courier: “Reece is a dad, a son, a fiance to Paula and a really lovable family boy.
“It is completely out of character for him to go missing, hence the amount of people who have arrived to help with the search.”
Sarah says Reece – who has two boys aged four and one – was able to start working closer to home earlier this year to spend more time with his family.
She said:Â “Reece is hard-working. He works six or seven days a week and is actually quite disappointed when he doesn’t get overtime.
“He’s recently moved to a different location with the same company. He has been really enjoying being able to spend more time with his two sons.
“He enjoys going to the gym. He’d go in the mornings so he could get home at night for his boys.
“He’s only been at this job since January but it has really perked him up. He’s a lovely boy, a gentle giant and the life and soul of the party.
“If you were to ask his friends about him they’d say exactly the same.”
Volunteers from across UK
As well as friends and family, volunteers from across the UK have travelled to offer their support for the search.
That includes two men from England who arrived on Friday evening with a dinghy to help with the underwater search.
Livingston-based aviation firefighter Nadine Harkness, who has been involved in similar operations before, ran through a briefing at the village hall before the search began.
Sarah said: “We’ve had lots of people arrive to support but there are so many who are emotionally attached to Reece and have just gone to search in their own way.
“Nadine has come off her own back as a good citizen to help with the search.
“She said there has to be a bit of organisation and rigour to this process.
“She’s using her own time to do this and has made sure that there is a better structure in our approach both today and Sunday.
“We have her resource for however many weekends we need her so the likelihood is that we have this volume of searchers in this area every weekend until we find Reece.”
Possible sighting on night of disappearance
Sarah says they hope a sighting the same night Reece went missing could prove to be crucial.
She said:Â “At 11.30pm (on Saturday March 18) there was a potential sighting of someone matching Reece’s description on the B846 near Aulich.
“They have obviously stopped to offer assistance and unfortunately when they did the person was nowhere to be seen.
“That’s the most information we’ve been given by police and that’s what we have to work from.
“The person couldn’t confirm that it was Reece so we have to work on the assumption that it was him.”
She has also thanked all those that have helped with the search effort – along with local residents.
She added: “We have nothing but the utmost respect for the police but Reece is missing and we need to find him as quickly as we can.
“This is so out of character from him, which is why it has led to so many people coming to help.
“It is genuinely touching that we have people who are dedicating their weekends to help search for Reece. It means the world to us.
“I would like to thank residents for allowing us to be in their community.
“I know that there’s quite a lot of us at times and it can be frustrating having people wandering about possibly in their private properties.
“We are looking not to do that but as long as Reece is missing we need to do our utmost to get him home.
“Thank you for having us be a part of the community as well, especially to the people who have offered help.
‘If you have a certain skillset, please come forward’
“Some have offered beds for the night. They have opened their doors so we can use the toilets and have a cup of tea. They have been amazing.
“If you have any information at all or have a certain skillset that can help us in the search of Reece, please come forward.”
Anyone with information on Reece’s disappearance is urged to contact police on 101 quoting reference number 1348 of March 19.
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