William Ritchie, 90, was last seen in the West Road area of North East Scotland fishing town, Fraserburgh, on January 12. He was reported missing on Sunday January 14 2018 by a neighbour.
A massive search centred around walking routes that Mr Ritchie, also known as Bill, was known to use. Bill regularly walked in and around the town and was known on occasion to have walked as far as local villages Strichen and Memsie.
Bill was relatively fit and healthy for his age β as far as we know β but with the weather in January not being the best, with snow and freezing temperatures, concerns for him grew every day. Search teams and a dive unit assisted in the search to thoroughly check the harder-to-reach verges at the side of the roads around the town.
Police released CCTV footage of Mr Ritchie but in the last 6 months there have been no signs of him or any remains found locally or in the sea around Fraserburgh. The footage isnβt good but was taken from a local supermarket on December 21 showing Mr Ritchie, who is described as being around 5ft 7ins, with a slim build and short grey hair. He usually wears a black jacket or a waterproof jacket with the hood up, and a flat cap.
Fraserburgh and surrounding area arenβt really remote and itβs hard to imagine that his body would be undiscovered on his walking routes. He may have entered the sea but, again, itβs hard to imagine why he would go near the shore in winter.
Nobody has come forward with any reason why Bill would have voluntarily left his home for a prolonged period. He appears to have disappeared into thin air.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-42702526 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-42745826
