Officers were last night conducting door-to-door inquiries and pouring over CCTV in the hunt for clues after a man was found lying on a busy Highland road with serious head injuries.
The man, who has not been named, has been transferred to hospital in Glasgow where he is in a critical condition after the incident that closed the A82 in Fort William on Sunday.
The incident occurred on the A82 near to the Cruachan Hotel on the outskirts of Fort William around 3.50am on Sunday morning.
A major investigation was launched and police revealed yesterday that two men aged 41 and 22 have been arrested in connection with the incident and released as inquiries continue.
Detective Inspector Richard Baird said: “Our inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of how this man came to be injured.
“Our initial inquiries suggest this was a contained incident and there was no wider risk to the public.
“I would ask anybody who was in the area near the Cruachan Hotel or on the High Street in Fort William in the early hours of Sunday morning who has not yet spoken to police to make contact as soon as possible.
“You may have information which seemed inconsequential at the time but could be of help to our enquiries.”
Yesterday a single police officer could be seen guarding the scene and police tape was still evident at the Cruachan Hotel. Officers will conduct door-to-door inquiries and thoroughly check CCTV over the coming days.
Councillor Allan Henderson said: “I appreciate the relative investigations have to be done, but to have the road closed for a whole day, in an area where there is no bypass, seems extreme.
“It seems every time an incident occurs the whole place shuts down. For anybody travelling west it was a nightmare. The question has to be asked why investigation camera work is not used for extreme cases like this.”
Two ambulances attended the scene before police conducted investigations, setting up three evidence tents. A section of the A82 was closed whilst police conducted their business, however, reopened on Sunday evening around 8:15pm.
Councillor Ben Thompson said: “I would like to thank the emergency services for dealing so rapidly with what I imagine was a very complicated situation.
“We as local councillors are fully supportive of our local emergency services and we are pushing for the local police to have all the equipment required to deal with the A82 issues.”