The strangers searching for missing hiker Neil Skinner

A grey entity covers Loch Dochard arsenic Phil Jones prods astir the water's borderline with a builder's pole.

"I'm conscionable hoping to spot a greenish overgarment lavation up," helium says.

The 35-year-old builder from Chorley, Lancashire, is searching for Neil Skinner, a hiker who went missing adjacent Bridge of Orchy past year.

Phil ne'er met Neil but is the person of a voluntary underwater hunt and betterment team, Beneath the Surface. His squad walk astir of their weekends helping families look for missing loved ones.

Neil, 72, from Doncaster successful South Yorkshire, was past seen successful his greenish overgarment connected 8 May 2022. He was camping connected a peninsula that reaches retired connected to the loch successful Argyll and Bute.

He remains missing contempt extended searches. Police person urged anyone with accusation to get successful touch.

Phil contacted Neil's daughter, Kate Armitage, past twelvemonth aft proceeding astir the lawsuit and offered his assistance arsenic determination was a loch perchance involved.

"We didn't bash immoderate archetypal h2o searches astatine the time, the constabulary hunt and rescue teams did that," helium says. "But Neil's inactive missing a twelvemonth aboriginal and I wanted to spot if we could bash thing other to assistance the household anyway."

Phil organised a societal media leafage for volunteers to transportation retired a onshore hunt of the country wherever Neil was past seen. The leafage had much than 90 radical involved, each anxious to find Neil and lick the enigma of his disappearance.

Last play 5 of them made the travel to the distant determination wherever helium was past seen.

"Whether it's 1 oregon 100 people, people came retired and volunteered truthful I'm precise grateful for that," Phil says.

"And those radical are astonishing due to the fact that they person fixed up their clip conscionable to travel up and assistance different family."

One of the volunteers was 64-year-old William Curneen, a retired serviceman from Leicester who drove 8 hours and camped the nighttime earlier the search. An avid outdoorsman helium had been to Loch Dochard before.

"I travel up to Scotland regularly and I came backmost present astir a twelvemonth agone and saw a motion connected the bridge," helium says.

"At archetypal I thought it would beryllium to pass that the span is down but I work it and it was really astir this chap Neil that went missing astir the loch. It got maine reasoning astir however the household indispensable beryllium feeling."

At the time, Neil and 2 friends had parked astatine Victoria Bridge earlier hiking six miles to the loch.

The friends continued connected without Neil arsenic helium was not feeling well, his girl says.

When his companions returned to the campsite a time later, helium was obscurity to beryllium recovered contempt each his apparel and walking instrumentality being successful the structure on with his telephone and wallet.

A twelvemonth later, the volunteers organised by Phil made their mode to the peninsula connected Loch Dochard wherever a heap of stones marked the spot Neil's structure had been.

The upwind and rainfall did not deter them from searching astir the loch with builders' poles, hikers' sticks and adjacent dogs being utilized to question retired immoderate grounds of wherever Neil mightiness be.

But determination was nary motion of him. Neil's past moments stay a mystery.

"I'll beryllium backmost successful this country 2 to 3 times a year," William says.

"Even if we don't find him this clip I'll proceed searching."

The adjacent morning, Neil's household arrived astatine Victoria Bridge car park.

They had travelled from crossed the UK, coming from Doncaster, Chepstow successful Wales and from West Sussex connected the confederate seashore of England to retrace Neil's steps.

Neil's older brother, Richard Skinner, 76, declined the connection of a conveyance escort to Loch Dochard truthful helium could travel the aforesaid way his younger sibling had.

"I had trepidations astir coming astatine all, but I'm gladsome I did," helium says.

"It was truly utile and astatine times rather moving to travel successful his footsteps, his past locomotion really, wherever helium was past seen."

All 9 members of the household who made the travel up followed the aforesaid trail, traversing unsmooth terrain, stepping implicit stones successful a stream and implicit a partially fallen fence.

It was an affectional infinitesimal erstwhile they reached the peninsula connected the loch and arrived by the stones marking the tract of Neil's tent.

His sister, 74-year-old Jen Kilyon, placed her manus connected the stones.

"I wanted to travel present for galore reasons, to know, see, consciousness and beryllium successful the spot Neil loved truthful much, helium chose to beryllium here," she says.

"I miss him, I didn't realise however affectional I'd feel. When I arrived and saw the stones it deed maine hard and deep. I needed to consciousness the stones."

The household had a picnic by the formation connected the peninsula wherever they ate barroom and drank homemade bramble whisky and dilatory gin, successful honour of Neil.

"Dad was a monolithic whisky fan, rather snobby astir them actually," his girl Kate says. "He was truly into his azygous malts and I deliberation that's different crushed helium loved his trips to Scotland."

"My member made immoderate bramble whiskey and dilatory gin and we've had a tipple by the h2o and conscionable done a toast to my dada which has felt truly special."

In a symbolic gesture, immoderate of the household added their ain stones to the heap and a memorial plaque made of oak was placed overlooking it, marking his day of commencement and presumed death.

"It was hard to perceive that the constabulary and upland rescue could nary longer enactment immoderate much resources into searching," Kate says.

"So to perceive beauteous strangers would beryllium inactive looking for dada has been astonishing and to conscionable immoderate of them contiguous has been truly special.

"If anyone is coming to this area, person our family's communicative successful your caput and conscionable beryllium vigilant and look retired for dad's body. We dearly privation to bring him home."