A huge search was launched yesterday for a young man who vanished after telling friends he was going to a party.
Lachlan Simpson was last seen after a county show dance in Sutherland.
And last night police said concern was growing for the safety of the chef – who is due to mark his 22nd birthday today.
The area around Dornoch was scoured by a coastguard helicopter and shore teams, police with sniffer dogs and a lifeboat crew.
About 30 locals also joined the hunt for Mr Simpson, who was last seen outside the dance marquee at the town’s Links around 1.30am on Sunday.
Mr Simpson, who lives with his father in the fishing village of Embo, is a commis chef at the One-up restaurant, which is part of the Dornoch Inn.
His mother lives not far from Embo, at Skelbo.
Dornoch Police Station, which closed its public counter service early last year, reopened yesterday to provide a co-ordination centre for the massive search, which covered the shoreline, woods and a disused railway line.
Mr Simpson is described as being 6ft, of slim to medium build with short, blond hair.
It is thought he was wearing a white and green zip-up top on Saturday before he disappeared.
Chief Inspector Colin Gough, who was co-ordinating the search, said: “We are very concerned given the passage of time that has passed since Lachlan was last seen.
“The fact he has not turned up somewhere is giving us a great deal of worry.
“We are asking members of the public in both the Dornoch and Embo communities to help find Lachlan.
“If they are in a position to check their gardens and under foliage or in their sheds, we would ask them to do that.
“What we have got now is a definite confirmed sighting at the marquee dance in the early hours of Sunday morning.
“We believe he said that he was planning to go to a party.
“We are now trying to discover where that party may have been. It is not clear whether it was in Dornoch or Embo.
“Anyone with information about that should contact police on 101.”
The Dornoch-based East Sutherland Rescue Association lifeboat searched along the coast from Dornoch Bridge to Loch Fleet.
Police carried out door-to-door inquiries in Embo and searched gardens and sheds in case Mr Simpson had sought shelter.
Police and sniffer dogs also searched Skelbo Wood, near the Trentham Hotel on the A9 Inverness-Thurso road, Dornoch airfield and the Struie Golf Course, near where the marquee was pitched.
The Inverness-based coastguard helicopter was also involved in the hunt and the RAF Lossiemouth Mountain Rescue team bolstered the search in the afternoon.
Several of Mr Simpson’s friends appealed for information on Facebook.
Steven Matheson wrote: “Any one with any info on Lachlan Simpson please get in touch with either myself or the police. Let’s get my mate home safe for his birthday.”
Police have urged anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact them on 101.