A serial sex attacker has been found dead just months after being granted early release from prison.
Colin MacDonald was convicted of of a campaign of abuse against three girls in the Highlands, which started when he was just 11.
He was jailed for five years in 2014, but had always maintained his innocence.
And earlier this year, the 48-year-old was released from prison after serving three quarters of his sentence.
He was reported missing last week, sparking a major search operation.
Detectives leading the hunt confirmed a man’s body was recovered at the weekend from Kinnoull Hill at Perth.
Although the body has yet to be formally identified, MacDonald’s family has been informed.
Relatives were too upset yesterday to speak.
MacDonald was just 11 years old when he targeted his first victim and spent the next six years preying on her.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard that he raped and sexually abused the youngster – who was just 10 when the attacks began – at locations in Inverness and Lochaber.
He also sexually assaulted a second girl in the early 1980s at an address in Fort William. She was just nine at the time.
And between the late 1980s and early 1990s, MacDonald repeatedly abused a third girl at an address in the Oban area.
He was finally caught after his victims plucked up enough courage to contact police about their ordeal.
Sentencing MacDonald in October 2014, judge Lord Jones said he had no alternative but to impose a prison sentence.
MacDonald, who lived in Perth before he was jailed, had claimed his victims had made up stories about him and that he was a victim of conspiracy.
A Scottish Prison Service spokeswoman confirmed MacDonald had been eligible for early release after serving part of his sentence.
He was reported missing on Monday, April 23.
A helicopter was scrambled to search around the Kinnoull Hill area, while dog handlers patrolled at ground level.
On Friday, police released CCTV images showing MacDonald walking through High Street and crossing Queen’s Bridge in Perth.
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