Threipmuir Reservoir: Police search for body of missing man enters fourth day

Emergency services were initially called to Threipmuir Reservoir, in the Pentlands, at 5:35pm on Wednesday, after a man in his thirties fell from a dinghy he was sharing with a group of friends.

But on Friday afternoon, Chief Inspector Scott Richardson of Police Scotland confirmed that three days of searches had failed to locate the missing man’s body.

He said the recovery operation, using both marine and land units, would “continue into the weekend.”

“A recovery operation which has been being carried out at Threipmuir Reservoir near Balerno after a man was seen to get into difficulties in the water around 5.35pm on Wednesday, 14 July, remains ongoing.

“The man’s family are being kept fully informed.

"We ask the public to avoid the area and thank you for your patience,” he finished.

The body of a man who fell overboard from a boat on an Edinburgh reservoir four days ago has still not been traced.

Threipmuir Resevoir Car Park on Mansfield Road and the footpath around the reservoir are both still closed to the public to allow emergency services to access the water.

On Thursday, an open-water swimmer revealed how he had helped guide the dinghy back to the shore when the group got into difficulty.

"I could see they were waving their jackets so I swam out to them...they were hysterical and saying their friend was in the water,” he told BBC Scotland.

“It was very windy and so it was choppy and they only had paddles...so I guided the boat with them in it back to shore.”

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