The partner of a Fife man who went missing on a camping trip in Perthshire says drivers in the area could help end “five weeks of torture”.
Paula Airzee has faced an agonising wait for news on Reece Rodger, who disappeared during a fishing trip with friends while camping on the banks of Loch Rannoch on March 18.
Paula, from High Valleyfield, believes a potential sighting of Reece on the B846 on the night he was last seen could hold the key to solving the case.
And she has revealed how the dad-of-two’s phone pinged a mast close to where a man matching his description was seen.
Despite extensive searches involving police divers, dog units, helicopters, mountain rescue volunteers and hundreds of people, no trace of Reece – originally from Rosyth – has been found.
Speaking to The Courier, Paula described how she has endured “five weeks of torture” – but says she is clinging to a glimmer of hope that the industrial painter might still be alive.
And she is convinced someone yet to come forward has crucial information about Reece’s disappearance.
‘All we have to cling to is one potential sighting’
She said: “All we have to cling to right now is the one potential sighting on the B846.
“What we understand is that a person who was travelling on that road stopped after spotting a person on that road.
“He then got out of the car to help but, by that time, the individual has unfortunately disappeared from view.
“The man was a male and was wearing black clothing matching what Reece was wearing that evening.
“We now know a number of cars passed following that potential sighting but unfortunately none of them have come forward at this stage.
“I’m urging those people who were on that road around the potential sighting to come forward, even if it they think they saw nothing at all.
“It’s crucial, if nothing else, to be able to eliminate them as we continue to piece together all known movements around that time.”
Paula insists there was nothing to suggest there was anything troubling Reece.
“I spoke to him while he was there and he was in good spirits,” she said.
Paula’s cousin, Sarah Fraser, who is co-ordinating the ongoing search on behalf of the family alongside the police investigation, says they are certain the man seen on the road was Reece.
Sarah said: “We know from phone records that Reece called Paula close to the time we think he was spotted on the road, and that he was heading east.
“His phone pinged off a mast a minute later so the likelihood that it was Reece is high.
“Reece’s phone last pinged at 11.19pm. That has taken us to an area which we have now searched.
“Unfortunately where he has gone then remains a mystery and that’s been the hardest part for everyone out searching as we have to leave each time without him.”
Paula – mum to sons aged four and one – says the lack of a breakthrough is proving harder to stomach as the days roll by.
She added: “It’s soul-destroying to be out searching each time and have to come away with nothing.
‘Every time the door goes, our boys think dad is home’
“Most heartbreaking is knowing what to say to our two boys, Nate, 4, and Grayson, 1.
“Even though they are very young, they realise their dad is not here, and it’s so difficult to know what to say to them when they ask.
“At first we were not even saying Reece’s name but now it’s five weeks on it is so difficult to know how to explain it to them.
“Every time the door goes, they think it’s their dad coming home.”
A Facebook group is helping co-ordinate searches for Reece.
Anyone with information is urged to contact 101, quoting reference number 1348 of Sunday March 19.
