The mystery disappearance of a Perthshire pensioner who has been missing for more than a year may never be solved, police have revealed.
Temporary Chief Inspector Ian Scott told The Courier that police suspect tragic William Elder must have taken his own life, following his disappearance on December 10 2013 from his home in James Court, Pitlochry.
This led to a concerted operation by officers that involved searching a river, using a police helicopter, police dogs and reviewing CCTV footage all carried out in an unsuccessful bid to track down the 81-year-old.
One river search stretched from Pitlochry as far as Ballinluig, with police teams using kayaks in the operation.
Despite a fresh review launched in December last year on the first anniversary of Mr Elder’s disappearance, no light was shed on the mystery.
Mr Scott, who is based in Perth, confirmed police believe the pensioner has died.
“The case was last reviewed by Detective Inspector Andy Patrick at the one-year anniversary stage, but I suspect Mr Elder, unfortunately, has taken his own life,” Mr Scott said.
“A body has never been found but that does sometimes happen.”
He continued: “We carried out a lot of inquiries, including looking at CCTV. Mr Elder was a keen fisherman at the time and (the) indications are that he may have gone into the river.
“These cases get periodically reviewed by the CID. Reviews are done to make sure there are no uncompleted inquiries but officers suspect he died.
“Mr Elder did not have a close family but all outstanding missing person inquiries remain ‘live’ and are subject to periodic review.”
Meanwhile, Mr Scott confirmed that officers are still carrying out inquiries regarding American tourist Susan McLean, 61, who has now been missing since May 17. She was last seen leaving the Moness Resort on Crieff Road in Aberfeldy at 7.45pm that day.
“There are still active searches being done for Mrs McLean, including six areas of water,” he added.
“This case is still being worked on, on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis. However, the vast majority of investigations have been completed.”