Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Police confirm body found in north-east harbour is Lachlan Simpson

The search for Lachlan Simpson has ended in tragedy
The search for Lachlan Simpson has ended in tragedy

A body found in a north-east harbour last week has been positively identified by police as Lachlan Simpson, from Embo.

Lachlan was reported missing on Monday July 27, after failing to return home from the Sutherland Show dance.

The chef, who was 21 when he disappeared was last seen in the early hours of July 27 in the links area of Dornoch.

Following his disappearance an extensive investigation and search operation was launched, utilising specialist resources including Police divers, Dog Unit and Helicopter, RAF and local Mountain Rescue Teams in addition to support from Search & Rescue Dog Association Scotland (SARDA Scotland) and HM Coastguard personnel from across the Highlands.

Appeals for information and assistance brought together hundreds of search volunteers from both the local community and all over the country, joining in ground searches in very changeable weather conditions.

His body was found by a passer by at  Whitehills Harbour on September 2 who noticed something floating in the water.

Lachlan’s family issued a statement following the tragic announcement.

It said: “We are all shocked and saddened by this news as we always kept hope that Lachlan would return home safe and well.

“There has always been hope that we would hear his voice and see his cheeky smile again.

“We would like to thank Police Scotland, the other emergency services, friends, family and the whole community for all their efforts and support in searching for Lachlan.

“We as a family have been overwhelmed by the love that has been shown to our son and brother.

“The family would like to be left alone at this time to come to terms with the news but thank each and every one of you.”

On behalf of Police Scotland Highland and Islands Division, Chief Inspector Iain MacLelland said:

“A large scale search operation and investigation was launched following Lachlan’s disappearance during which the overwhelming response from the local community played a major part.

“Police Scotland is extremely grateful to everyone who assisted in providing and sharing information in addition to taking part in ground searches.

“We hope that this identification provides some form of closure for Lachlan’s family who have our deepest sympathies at this very difficult time; extending to the wider communities of Dornoch and Embo during their loss of a popular and much loved young man.”