Body found in field at Thurso East
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THE body of a man has been found in the Thurso East area following a search by police, coastguards, the local lifeboat and dog handlers. That was confirmed by Northern Constabulary headquarters in Inverness yesterday afternoon.
A spokesman said: “The discovery was made at around 12.30 on Thursday afternoon. Enquiries are at a very early stage and the remains have not yet been identified.
“Police have been searching for missing Thurso man Stephen McGurk and, although no positive identification has been made, his family have been made aware of the recent development.”
Inspector Garry Cameron said: “We had ground and sea searches comprising the local lifeboat, coastguard ground teams, four police dog handlers, as well as the valuable assistance of the Caithness and Sutherland Search Team. We had parameters set for the search which included the Thurso Bay area and Thurso East. Searches commenced with the coastguard out on the ground at 10am and the dog teams were out by 10.30am.”
He continued: “During that search members of the police dog team found a body of a male person in a field at Thurso East.
“It is very, very early in the enquiry.
“Efforts are now going on to identify and establish the circumstances.
“At this stage it is purely the finding of a body. It is too early to state otherwise and we are exploring every possibility. It is being dealt with now as any outside sudden death would be. We will carry out the relevant enquiries and make a report to the procurator fiscal.”
Don Smith, who is the chairman of Thurso Community Council, said it was “quite tragic” that a body had been found.
“It is always a tragedy when someone loses their life in such circumstances.
“It is a sad thing to have happened.
“On behalf of the community council, I would like to extend our sympathy and condolences to the friends and family of the person,” he said.
Thurso Highland councillor John Rosie described the discovery as “sad news for the town” and said his thoughts and sympathy were also with the friends and family of the person.
The discovery of the body took place as the search for missing Thurso man Stephen McGurk was stood down.
The 38-year-old, originally from Glasgow, was last seen on Sunday about 2pm. The search got under way at the beginning of the week after Mr McGurk failed to keep an appointment with the local authority.
On Tuesday, two dog handlers helped officers search an area between Glengolly and Thurso.
A poster of the missing man was made and distributed by the police as part of the effort to trace him. It was believed Mr McGurk did not have his prescribed medication with him.
The search was widened yesterday and included the coastguard and police dog handlers as well as members of CASST who were brought in by Northern Constabulary.
Mr McGurk’s last known address was Ormlie Lodge.
