A dad desperately trying to find his missing son has travelled nearly 300 miles to quiz Moray locals about his whereabouts.
Michael Whinham went missing from his home in Newcastle in November.
But his father Paul is convinced the 31-year-old is still alive, and raced to Elgin at the weekend to pursue a reported sighting of him.
He quizzed locals and distributed flyers among some of the town’s busiest stores in the hope of jogging shoppers’ memories.
Mr Whinham made the trip after a woman – who used to live in the same area of Newcastle as the family – spotted someone she recognised while shopping in the town on Thursday, January 14.
Shortly thereafter, the woman, who has been living in Moray for five years, learned that Mr Whinham jun was missing and grew sure it was him she had seen.
Mr Whinham sen said: “That is why I came to Elgin, I really am giving this sighting credence and I think it’s a genuine possibility he was here.
“This lady made eye contact with him at the till and said she knew him.
“It had been playing on her mind since then, and when she saw our appeal for Michael she said ‘that’s him’.”
Mr Whinham jun was reported missing on November 23, and Northumbria Police last week said foul play could have factored in his disappearance.
But his father – who has spent the past two months spreading leaflets across the UK in a bid to trace his son – is adamant he is out there somewhere.
The 66-year-old added: “I think what has happened is he’s had an argument with his girlfriend and headed down to catch whatever the next train he could get was, it could have been Aberdeen and he’d have got on it.
“Michael has had a variety of mental problems for the past 14 years, since his mother died, and he used illegal drugs to control those problems.
“So he wouldn’t have been thinking clearly, and he has been known to act impulsively.”
The concerned parent said his son also owed small-time drug dealers money, but is convinced that they would not have injured him and neither would his son have harmed himself.
He added: “There has been no body found and Michael is not the kind of person who would do himself any harm.
“I’m convinced of that.
“We would see each other four times a week and he would always see me to the door and say ‘love you, dad’.
“That’s the kind of lad he is – he would give you his last pound if you asked him.”
Mr Whinham believes his son may have been passing through Moray en route elsewhere.
Anyone with any information should call Northumbria Police on 101 and ask for Newcastle Central CID.