UK - Anthony Parsons, 63, charity cyclist, found deceased, Argyll, Scotland, 29 Sept 2017 *Arrests*

[Taskforce88]

Yup.



Good question. I can't remember seeing anything about this.

Assuming he had a mobile phone, though we have no idea which network he might have been with, I took a look at Vodafone's coverage maps for the area. They show pretty good outdoor coverage for at least G2 (calls) almost the entire length of the the A82 and A85. IME although the networks may vary slightly in terms of coverage in more remote areas, they all give very similar coverage these days along major roads which the roads he was cycling are. Obviously a signal cannot be guaranteed in any specific spot but the maps suggest he wouldn't have been outside of a signal area for very long at all while cycling along the road.

So if he did have a phone with him he should at least have been able to make a call from almost any outside spot on his route.

I get good mobile signal in that area, even in parts of Glencoe. I have a feeling he didn't have a mobile on him. Again this would be useful info if the police would only say.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

I get good mobile signal in that area, even in parts of Glencoe. I have a feeling he didn't have a mobile on him. Again this would be useful info if the police would only say.

And yet, who under the age of 90 doesn't have a mobile phone these days?

I can't help thinking this is another of those catalogue-of-bad-decisions-leading-to-disaster cases like those of Sandy Giles and Lisa Harvey.

In business it's said that companies can almost always recover from single mistakes, but an accumulation of mistakes and bad judgements will bring down even the soundest business.

 

[silverjug]

And yet, who under the age of 90 doesn't have a mobile phone these days?

I can't help thinking this is another of those catalogue-of-bad-decisions-leading-to-disaster cases like those of Sandy Giles and Lisa Harvey.

In business it's said that companies can almost always recover from single mistakes, but an accumulation of mistakes and bad judgements will bring down even the soundest business.

You are right, dad is 88 and won't move anywhere without his mobile.
It all sounds like "for the want of a horseshoe nail". I would like for him to be alive but I don't think that is very likely.

 

[Taskforce88]

And yet, who under the age of 90 doesn't have a mobile phone these days?

I can't help thinking this is another of those catalogue-of-bad-decisions-leading-to-disaster cases like those of Sandy Giles and Lisa Harvey.

In business it's said that companies can almost always recover from single mistakes, but an accumulation of mistakes and bad judgements will bring down even the soundest business.

I'm probably wrong, I just have a feeling he was incommunicado for his entire journey.

Police haven't mentioned that he stopped to make a call, his family haven't said anything really.

If it was me I would be giving as much info to the public as possible.

If he had a phone on him what masts would ping? Think there is one in Tyndrum.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

If he had a phone on him what masts would ping? Think there is one in Tyndrum.

In scenic areas masts are often camouflaged, eg as pine trees or within groups of buildings so they may not be obvious.

You may have to do some manual scrolling of the map but there's a map here showing masts along the route Tony was taking.

https://www.coolsmartphone.com/2016/11/10/locate-mobile-mast/

There are several strung out across Rannoch Moor, two in BoO, three in Tyndrum and several others in Crianlarich. As such, I think if he had a phone it would have pinged at least some of these masts as he passed through the area.

Incidentally I notice there are additional cameras in Tyndrum - you can see them on a pole almost opposite the Tyndrum Inn. These are in addition to the ones I looked for and found a few weeks ago in this village. They also look as though they are pointing both ways up and down the A82, so if Tony had cycled through the settlement I can't see how he could have failed to be caught by them.

ETA that the masts in Tyndrum are up the side lane and just beyond the Village Hall, behind what seems to be a small electrical sub-station.

 

[JustJo]

In scenic areas masts are often camouflaged, eg as pine trees or within groups of buildings so they may not be obvious.

You may have to do some manual scrolling of the map but there's a map here showing masts along the route Tony was taking.

https://www.coolsmartphone.com/2016/11/10/locate-mobile-mast/

There are several strung out across Rannoch Moor, two in BoO, three in Tyndrum and several others in Crianlarich. As such, I think if he had a phone it would have pinged at least some of these masts as he passed through the area.

Incidentally I notice there are additional cameras in Tyndrum - you can see them on a pole almost opposite the Tyndrum Inn. These are in addition to the ones I looked for and found a few weeks ago in this village. They also look as though they are pointing both ways up and down the A82, so if Tony had cycled through the settlement I can't see how he could have failed to be caught by them.

ETA that the masts in Tyndrum are up the side lane and just beyond the Village Hall, behind what seems to be a small electrical sub-station.

Thanks for that info. I'm very intrigued by this case.

If he'd had a phone with him it would have been good for the Police to try and trace the pings like they did with Corrie. Then they could maybe find out if he's actually even in the area they're looking.

Isn't cycling at night in that area just dangerous? Or is it something a lot of people do with it being a tourist area? Even on lit roads round here I sometime struggle to see cyclists at night when I'm driving.

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[Taskforce88]

Thanks for that info. I'm very intrigued by this case.

If he'd had a phone with him it would have been good for the Police to try and trace the pings like they did with Corrie. Then they could maybe find out if he's actually even in the area they're looking.

Isn't cycling at night in that area just dangerous? Or is it something a lot of people do with it being a tourist area? Even on lit roads round here I sometime struggle to see cyclists at night when I'm driving.

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Its a very dark road with lots of trucks and buses, one could hit a cyclist without knowing as they are pulling back in after overtaking.

I cant remember ever coming across any cyclist at night on these roads.

 

[Elainera]

Yup.


Good question. I can't remember seeing anything about this.

Assuming he had a mobile phone, though we have no idea which network he might have been with, I took a look at Vodafone's coverage maps for the area. They show pretty good outdoor coverage for at least G2 (calls) almost the entire length of the the A82 and A85. IME although the networks may vary slightly in terms of coverage in more remote areas, they all give very similar coverage these days along major roads which the roads he was cycling are. Obviously a signal cannot be guaranteed in any specific spot but the maps suggest he wouldn't have been outside of a signal area for very long at all while cycling along the road.

So if he did have a phone with him he should at least have been able to make a call from almost any outside spot on his route.

He had talked about his intentions to do this cycle with a friend some days before.

He must have done some research on train times, looked at a map, looked at distances. I have a feeling that he knew the route well beforehand and thought it would be a good cycle one day.

He is not prepared for the cycle however. Wrong clothing, wrong footwear, wrong bike, and he left it far too late in the day to make it home safely. So was he intending on an overnight stop?

The fact he is doing this on a mountain bike wearing walking boots makes me wonder if he planned some off-road travel? He must have known it wasn't the right gear for a road cycle.

bbm - The fact that he was so unprepared in all the areas you mention leads me to believe that he didn't have a phone on him either. Maybe he deliberately wanted to be off the grid for this ride? It was mentioned that he saw it as a challenge - maybe failure/call for help was not an option in his mind?

I get good mobile signal in that area, even in parts of Glencoe. I have a feeling he didn't have a mobile on him. Again this would be useful info if the police would only say.

bbm - Or the family. Have there been no statements, interviews, fb pages etc by family at all?

In scenic areas masts are often camouflaged, eg as pine trees or within groups of buildings so they may not be obvious.

You may have to do some manual scrolling of the map but there's a map here showing masts along the route Tony was taking.

https://www.coolsmartphone.com/2016/11/10/locate-mobile-mast/

There are several strung out across Rannoch Moor, two in BoO, three in Tyndrum and several others in Crianlarich. As such, I think if he had a phone it would have pinged at least some of these masts as he passed through the area.

Incidentally I notice there are additional cameras in Tyndrum - you can see them on a pole almost opposite the Tyndrum Inn. These are in addition to the ones I looked for and found a few weeks ago in this village. They also look as though they are pointing both ways up and down the A82, so if Tony had cycled through the settlement I can't see how he could have failed to be caught by them.

ETA that the masts in Tyndrum are up the side lane and just beyond the Village Hall, behind what seems to be a small electrical sub-station.

There could be several reasons why there's no footage of him on these cameras.
Cameras not working, footage already over-recorded by the time police asked for it, police never asked for the footage from those cameras, footage too dark and grainy (dark and rainy night) to be sure it was him, etc.

 

[Taskforce88]

Nothing from the family that I have found. I'm not sure if that's strange or not, usually always someone saying something.

I believe the owner of one of the hotels in Tyndrum checked her cameras as she stated on Facebook a number of weeks ago that he did not pass through and was sure of it, unless she had spoken to other establishments.

 

[Taskforce88]

There could be several reasons why there's no footage of him on these cameras.
Cameras not working, footage already over-recorded by the time police asked for it, police never asked for the footage from those cameras, footage too dark and grainy (dark and rainy night) to be sure it was him, etc.

Some points there, regarding footage being recorded over, very likely that they would do so. No reason to keep the footage more than a day.

Police didn't declare a missing person until the following week? 3 days after?

 

[JustJo]

I might be wrongly assuming he is isn't married?
You'd have thought if he was he'd have told more detailed plans to her. So far it's only the friend we've heard from. Unless the Police have more info but they feel we don't need to know it.

If my husband was going on a 100mile bike ride I'd make sure he had a mobile, and if he didn't text or ring me at every available opportunity to let me know how he was getting on, I wouldn't be too happy!

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[jiminy]

The lack of initial info and follow up leads me to think that there may have been an indication of suicide that hasn't been mentioned in the press. One last sunrise in a scenic spot makes a sort of sense to me.

 

[JustJo]

The lack of initial info and follow up leads me to think that there may have been an indication of suicide that hasn't been mentioned in the press. One last sunrise in a scenic spot makes a sort of sense to me.

I'm not sure because usually when someone is missing and they think suicide might be an option the Police usually say it is a vulnerable/distressed person. However I agree with you about the scenic location, and he also did not appear to be equipped to carry out a 100 mile bike ride.

I'd really like to know more information about this case. There seems to be no updates and I feel bad for the guy that his story has gone quiet.

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[Taskforce88]

Seems the police are stumped.

 

[Taskforce88]

Its clear that he isn't coming home, I would have expected his family to make an appeal close to Christmas but there hasn't been a peep from them at all.

What is everyone's own opinion on this case?

 

[JustJo]

I don't know how to describe how I feel about it. It's a weird one. There's clearly a very large search area which understandably means it may be harder finding him.

But the lack of anything from his family is strange. I feel sorry for the guy. If I went missing I'd hope my family would put something out there in the media.

I keep checking for updates but there's nothing. I hope they are still looking for him. If I lived nearby I'd be out there helping to find him.

Actually, writing this has made me feel sad. So that's how I feel about this case. Sad for Anthony. I hope he is found soon. Or if not, some more information would be nice.

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[Taskforce88]

If I lived closer I would most likely be out at least once a week checking new areas each time. I have only been in the area twice since he went missing and I certainly wasn't doing any major searches.

Of course he may not even be in this area.

On the family side I feel they maybe weren't close, but the silence, for me, is odd.

 

[JustJo]

Do you live up that way Taskforce? I'm down in Tyne and Wear so unlikely to hear of any updates in the news. I will keep checking back here and searching online for any news on a weekly basis.

I don't want Anthony to think he's been forgotten about.... IYKWIM.

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[Taskforce88]

Do you live up that way Taskforce? I'm down in Tyne and Wear so unlikely to hear of any updates in the news. I will keep checking back here and searching online for any news on a weekly basis.

I don't want Anthony to think he's been forgotten about.... IYKWIM.

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I live in Ayrshire, so about a two-hour drive away. I go up quite often for hillwalking/photography etc

 

[silverjug]

I rather think he is estranged from family, and I hate to say this but wonder if depression got hold of him and he made sure he would not return.
I wonder if the countryside he was travelling in held any special signifcance for him............he was also not at all prepared for this journey which does worry me, I think he will be found by dog walkers/hikers at some stage.