Found Deceased UK - Susan McLean, 61, U.S. tourist, Aberfeldy, Scotland, 17 May 2015

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Re: how long to search, it's obviously a personal decision. A somewhat similar case is Gerry Largay, 66, who went missing on the Appalachian Trail a couple years ago. After 12 days the official search was scaled back, the area had been very thoroughly searched. Her husband was urged to go home, which he did. Three months after her disappearance he held a memorial service. Here's a touching video as he talks about what she would have wanted him to do (a little slow to load): http://archive.tennessean.com/VideoNetwork/2600888997001/Husband-of-missing-hiker-explains-how-he-copes-without-her
 
Hi All
Back on track. I went up yesterday to The Dun, approaching it from my usual starting point at the garden centre, but this time came to it on yet another track. Yes there are fairly steep overhangs just below the cairn of stones on the north side of the hill however there is a grassy ledge all along so from the top I could look down , good visibility, and no sign of anything, not even disturbed branches etc. and I mentioned before that I also checked at the very bottom of these rifts that day I became lost and drenched. I headed back to the car yet another way, just to check a deer path that was quite pronounce.

So here's the thing: from the top of the hill, I could see right over to the A826, and between me and the road, there is a large field with one small copse of trees. There was a small herd of cattle grazing by the trees, and in the foreground no less than six stags, all down on the grass, resting I guess. Mature beasts with large antlers. Leading through the field from the road and toward me at the base of the hill is a farm track. So as I drove home down the A826 I saw the gate leading to this track. It is unlocked and looks easy to open. So if you were not wanting to risk returning home in the dark on that difficult road, perhaps you would go through the gate to access the field and cut across the field which leads out to the area of the disused quarry and a road leading to A826 just above the resort....btw I already checked that quarry, but I have not done this field or wooded area. Afraid of cattle and stags!!!!
My questions to you Americans reading this: are you aware, and do you think Sudan would have been aware, of Scottish trespassing laws? Ie, we don't have any. You are at liberty to wander, responsibly of course, over any land here without trespassing. If a Susan knew this, she might have accessed this area which is in view of Errichel farm. However if she did not know about our roaming laws. She may have stuck to the road, assuming she retraced her steps to come home.
I found out that the person offering the lift has reported it to the police, and she did not answer him, just shook her head.
I am such
 
hippy hippy said:
Hi All
Back on track. I went up yesterday to The Dun, approaching it from my usual starting point at the garden centre, but this time came to it on yet another track. Yes there are fairly steep overhangs just below the cairn of stones on the north side of the hill however there is a grassy ledge all along so from the top I could look down , good visibility, and no sign of anything, not even disturbed branches etc. and I mentioned before that I also checked at the very bottom of these rifts that day I became lost and drenched. I headed back to the car yet another way, just to check a deer path that was quite pronounce.

So here's the thing: from the top of the hill, I could see right over to the A826, and between me and the road, there is a large field with one small copse of trees. There was a small herd of cattle grazing by the trees, and in the foreground no less than six stags, all down on the grass, resting I guess. Mature beasts with large antlers. Leading through the field from the road and toward me at the base of the hill is a farm track. So as I drove home down the A826 I saw the gate leading to this track. It is unlocked and looks easy to open. So if you were not wanting to risk returning home in the dark on that difficult road, perhaps you would go through the gate to access the field and cut across the field which leads out to the area of the disused quarry and a road leading to A826 just above the resort....btw I already checked that quarry, but I have not done this field or wooded area. Afraid of cattle and stags!!!!
My questions to you Americans reading this: are you aware, and do you think Sudan would have been aware, of Scottish trespassing laws? Ie, we don't have any. You are at liberty to wander, responsibly of course, over any land here without trespassing. If a Susan knew this, she might have accessed this area which is in view of Errichel farm. However if she did not know about our roaming laws. She may have stuck to the road, assuming she retraced her steps to come home.
I found out that the person offering the lift has reported it to the police, and she did not answer him, just shook her head.
I am such
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Hi Hippy-re: the trespassing laws, it's hard to tell if she was aware or not that those laws do not exist in Scotland. Is it widely reported in guide books? When I was in Scotland years ago, I didn't know that you could essentially walk where you wanted, as long as no harm was being done. People here in the US are very protective of their properties, and only if you were an absolute clod (like my next door neighbor!), would you take such a liberty-if she wasn't aware of the way you do things, I don't think she would have even considered trekking across an unknown property unless she was in imminent danger.
 
hippy hippy said:
Hi All
Back on track. I went up yesterday to The Dun, approaching it from my usual starting point at the garden centre, but this time came to it on yet another track. Yes there are fairly steep overhangs just below the cairn of stones on the north side of the hill however there is a grassy ledge all along so from the top I could look down , good visibility, and no sign of anything, not even disturbed branches etc. and I mentioned before that I also checked at the very bottom of these rifts that day I became lost and drenched. I headed back to the car yet another way, just to check a deer path that was quite pronounce.

So here's the thing: from the top of the hill, I could see right over to the A826, and between me and the road, there is a large field with one small copse of trees. There was a small herd of cattle grazing by the trees, and in the foreground no less than six stags, all down on the grass, resting I guess. Mature beasts with large antlers. Leading through the field from the road and toward me at the base of the hill is a farm track. So as I drove home down the A826 I saw the gate leading to this track. It is unlocked and looks easy to open. So if you were not wanting to risk returning home in the dark on that difficult road, perhaps you would go through the gate to access the field and cut across the field which leads out to the area of the disused quarry and a road leading to A826 just above the resort....btw I already checked that quarry, but I have not done this field or wooded area. Afraid of cattle and stags!!!!
My questions to you Americans reading this: are you aware, and do you think Sudan would have been aware, of Scottish trespassing laws? Ie, we don't have any. You are at liberty to wander, responsibly of course, over any land here without trespassing. If a Susan knew this, she might have accessed this area which is in view of Errichel farm. However if she did not know about our roaming laws. She may have stuck to the road, assuming she retraced her steps to come home.
I found out that the person offering the lift has reported it to the police, and she did not answer him, just shook her head.
I am such
Click to expand...
i hope your restful weekend is still being felt, my friend..........

i must agree with jmoose......unless susan was in a panic for some reason, i don't see her venturing onto private property......it's just not something we americans "do" here and unless it's highly touted there and she was aware of it, why would she?

i continue to be amazed at your tenacity to this case, a true sleuther at heart :) oh and how is the fluffy healing? well and speedily i hope........

to me, this case is so perplexing because of the timing and weather the evening she disappeared........it was not optimal strolling conditions imo since she was not familiar w/the area.....


i don't know, so many unanswered questions abound......



:rose: susan........holding onto hope
 
Just wanted to add that I am a wimp when it comes t large animals.
Anyway, I have taken that on board, that Susan most likely would not know about the countryside roaming rules, so she would have probably avoided walking over a farmland unless of course it was a marked trail.
So today I. Am going up to the garden centre with the hound and will do a short trek into the woods directly behind it, in other words to the left of the A826 as you head .
south.

I guess I am continuing on this journey because I know she is out there. How will she be found otherwise? The police aren't here anymore.
 
Hippy, thank you so much for extending yourself for Susan. I guess the police realize that she now will only be found by chance and that's why they're no longer actively searching. It does seem heartless of them, but just imagine all of the time it would take to search all of the places that she could be. Scotland, by comparison to the US, isn't very big, but plenty big enough for one woman to stay hidden for a long time. Her poor family!
 
Also Queen Bee, the collie gets her stitches out on Thursday so she will soon be fit enough to participate once again. Thank you for asking after her, she says Ta for caring!
 
Thank you hippy hippy for all that you have done. I do not understand the silence from the family, nor further details being released. You truly are a wonderful person and thank you so much for continuing to search.
 
So, these are the options:

1. Susan went for a walk that evening up the main road but at some time went on to a track/path, slipped and has fallen under shrubs or bushes, probably near some stones and a place with a Scottish sounding woman's name in the title, passing away from her injuries/bad weather.

2. Susan never made it out of the lodge alive once she returned from dinner that night. That a decoy was sent out to create a believable timeline and a reason for her to be seen on that road so that when she was found in Loch whatever by some poor fisherman, someday down the line, it could be argued that she accepted a lift from wrong person.

3. Susan did walk off in her summery clothes and a different jacket than the blue jacket she was wearing in the family photo, up the main road, accepted a lift from the wrong person and ended up in Loch whatever/woodland being found by a poor fisherman/hiker.

4. Susan did walk up the road, accepted a lift from the wrong person and is being kept alive somewhere while the family is being blackmailed.

5. Susan did walk off up the road, turning off it at some stage, before deciding to take her own life in the nearest thickest hedge.

As time passes it's looking less likely that Susan just slipped somewhere within easy walking distance of the resort and has remained undetected. I think the police also suspect that she is no longer in the immediate area and why their presence isn't being felt. JMO.

My next thing, if it was me, would be to check which vehicles left the resort that evening/early next morning, and when they returned. I would say that if people left the resort that night or early the next morning in a car (s) *trying to be careful what I say face*, to search for her, then that information will be available via the CCTV.

Though such traffic, it could be argued, would be totally acceptable, indeed would be expected in the circumstances, I would be looking for places within half of the time any of the vehicles were absent from the resort (half the time to get there, the other to get back), as an indicator of where to look for - or expect discovery to be made of - Susan's remains. JMO.
 
Aloysius said:
So, these are the options:

1. Susan went for a walk that evening up the main road but at some time went on to a track/path, slipped and has fallen under shrubs or bushes, probably near some stones and a place with a Scottish sounding woman's name in the title, passing away from her injuries/bad weather.

2. Susan never made it out of the lodge alive once she returned from dinner that night. That a decoy was sent out to create a believable timeline and a reason for her to be seen on that road so that when she was found in Loch whatever by some poor fisherman, someday down the line, it could be argued that she accepted a lift from wrong person.

3. Susan did walk off in her summery clothes and a different jacket than the blue jacket she was wearing in the family photo, up the main road, accepted a lift from the wrong person and ended up in Loch whatever/woodland being found by a poor fisherman/hiker.

4. Susan did walk up the road, accepted a lift from the wrong person and is being kept alive somewhere while the family is being blackmailed.

5. Susan did walk off up the road, turning off it at some stage, before deciding to take her own life in the nearest thickest hedge.

As time passes it's looking less likely that Susan just slipped somewhere within easy walking distance of the resort and has remained undetected. I think the police also suspect that she is no longer in the immediate area and why their presence isn't being felt. JMO.

My next thing, if it was me, would be to check which vehicles left the resort that evening/early next morning, and when they returned. I would say that if people left the resort that night or early the next morning in a car (s) *trying to be careful what I say face*, to search for her, then that information will be available via the CCTV.

Though such traffic, it could be argued, would be totally acceptable, indeed would be expected in the circumstances, I would be looking for places within half of the time any of the vehicles were absent from the resort (half the time to get there, the other to get back), as an indicator of where to look for - or expect discovery to be made of - Susan's remains. JMO.
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6. Susan did walk off up the road where a gentleman (or lady) was waiting in a car to pick her up and whisk her away to a new life. (IMO, this is not what happened but it's a possibility. I am going with your thought process, Aloysius).
 
Satchie said:
Re: how long to search, it's obviously a personal decision. A somewhat similar case is Gerry Largay, 66, who went missing on the Appalachian Trail a couple years ago. After 12 days the official search was scaled back, the area had been very thoroughly searched. Her husband was urged to go home, which he did. Three months after her disappearance he held a memorial service. Here's a touching video as he talks about what she would have wanted him to do (a little slow to load): http://archive.tennessean.com/VideoNetwork/2600888997001/Husband-of-missing-hiker-explains-how-he-copes-without-her
Click to expand...

I think this paragraph gives me the best idea of what happened to her.

'Between April and July, this routine became 69-year-old George’s full-time job. Sometimes he’d do a little sightseeing or hole up in a coffee shop with a copy of The Wall Street Journal or New York Times. When things got hard, he’d ask Gerry what she wanted to do. This was her dream, but he was ready to get on with the next chapter of their life. Gerry always wanted to soldier on. In time, George stopped asking.'

So I find it interesting that you are comparing the two cases and can see the similarity.
 
Lamima said:
6. Susan did walk off up the road where a gentleman (or lady) was waiting in a car to pick her up and whisk her away to a new life. (IMO, this is not what happened but it's a possibility. I am going with your thought process, Aloysius).
Click to expand...

Exactly Lamima, open minded to everything - no matter how hard to believe or far-fetched it may sound.

I've been following the Blanchard family case. Took everything at face value as the story developed and did not see that coming.
 
"I found out that the person offering the lift has reported it to the police, and she did not answer him, just shook her head."

JMO. From what we know about Susan, and from my limited experience of meeting Americans, I think if we polled her friends they would expect her to say something along the lines of 'thank you very much, that is kind of you for asking but it's ok I'm just ------ (fill in the blanks)' - because she's a well brought up woman if nothing else and would appreciate the gesture of kindness. JMO.
 
I believe the Gerry Largay case is similar because it's an older women walking in an area with steep ravines. I live in the mountains and the number of people who die by falling vs by murder would be something like 200 to 1. I've taken a couple of tumbles on easy trails and it gives you incredible respect for the power of gravity and how easy it is to put one foot wrong.
 
I'm sure there must have been an argument at the hotel - why else walk off in the rain, it's not like she was heading to a shop or anything. I think she's stomped off. Wonder if anyone went after her??

HH - how sure is your neighbour that it was Susan he saw? Could she have gone in a different direction completely? Any other confirmed sightings?
 
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/lo...ate-possible-sightings-of-us-tourist-1.877214

In this link the police state although there have been several possible sightings of Susan there have been no positive sightings of Susan apart from the cctv of her walking in the grounds of the resort where she was staying. Maybe there have been some confirmed sightings that I have missed, idk.
But apart from HHippys neighbour offering who he thought was Susan a lift towards the garden centre, does anyone know if there has been any more sightings?
If the lady the man offered the lift to towards the garden centre wasn't Susan after all, then maybe she never left the resort and just went for a walk around it. She certainly wasn't dressed, in pale trousers and white shoes, to go far in the rain. I know HHippy has selflessly searched endlessly for Susan in many areas, risking life and limb in all weathers but could she be in an area just around the resorts grounds? If HH has already searched that area then please accept my apologies and don't take offence at my suggestion. I just can't see her getting far the way she was dressed, unless she accepted a lift somewhere. But even then, why hasn't she turned up?
 
Being a close friend of Susan's I would like to enter this discussion. It has been a month now since she's been missing and I'm desperate for answers.

To address a few of the comments from earlier... yes, it is very possible that Susan DID know the trespassing laws in Scotland.

Susan knows how to dress herself for the elements... she knows what to wear to stay warm and dry all day long in weather much worse than that. If she had any desire to be outside for longer than a short while, she would have taken her cell phone and warmer clothes. A friend who is closer with the rest of the family made a comment on her facebook that she took a walk to "cool off." This was my immediate thought as well whenever I saw the first news article. She is the type who would go for a walk to clear her head if there was an argument, I just can't imagine her planning to be gone long. She always has her phone with her when she rides in case of an accident. As far as someone going after her... those who know Susan well know that she is very independent... anyone who may of thought of going after her probably assumed that she would go do whatever she needed to do and then return after some time. What I can't figure out is the time gap between 6:30 when she was reported missing and the CCTV image at 7:15.

Third, I also don't believe Susan would be the type to just shake her head if offered a ride. She would have to be extremely upset to do that, and I still can't picture it. As Aloysius said, she would have most likely responded with "No thank you, I'm fine on my own!" or something to that effect, and Susan's voice is hard to forget, even amongst other American accents. That sighting was never confirmed and I do wonder why? Surely the man has seen her picture by now, and would have been able to tell the police if that was her. Did he not see her face at all?
 
Eqs said:
Being a close friend of Susan's I would like to enter this discussion. It has been a month now since she's been missing and I'm desperate for answers.

To address a few of the comments from earlier... yes, it is very possible that Susan DID know the trespassing laws in Scotland.

Susan knows how to dress herself for the elements... she knows what to wear to stay warm and dry all day long in weather much worse than that. If she had any desire to be outside for longer than a short while, she would have taken her cell phone and warmer clothes. A friend who is closer with the rest of the family made a comment on her facebook that she took a walk to "cool off." This was my immediate thought as well whenever I saw the first news article. She is the type who would go for a walk to clear her head if there was an argument, I just can't imagine her planning to be gone long. She always has her phone with her when she rides in case of an accident. As far as someone going after her... those who know Susan well know that she is very independent... anyone who may of thought of going after her probably assumed that she would go do whatever she needed to do and then return after some time. What I can't figure out is the time gap between 6:30 when she was reported missing and the CCTV image at 7:15.

Third, I also don't believe Susan would be the type to just shake her head if offered a ride. She would have to be extremely upset to do that, and I still can't picture it. As Aloysius said, she would have most likely responded with "No thank you, I'm fine on my own!" or something to that effect, and Susan's voice is hard to forget, even amongst other American accents. That sighting was never confirmed and I do wonder why? Surely the man has seen her picture by now, and would have been able to tell the police if that was her. Did he not see her face at all?
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Welcome to WS!

Sorry that it has to be under these circumstances but thank you so much for coming along to join the conversation. It makes a LOT of difference to have input from someone that actually knows the missing person and I hope you won't take offence at our sometimes blunt viewpoints on what's going on.

I hope you don't mind me asking, but were you in regular contact with her before they came to the UK and what did you know about their trip before they went? What do you think has happened?
 
welcome eqs and i too am so sorry for the absence of your friend, it has to be so upsetting for you :hug:

i think he means well, but i am not convinced that hippy's neighbor saw susan that evening but someone else as i too think she would have probably responded from what we've heard about her..........and the time difference is confusing to me as well..........

how are her sons and husband coping? what did hoot, her husband, have to say about it all? are they planning a trip back anytime soon? where does a family go from here in all honesty? how heartbreaking this must be for all concerned :(

again, my condolences on this heartbreaking event in your life....but let's hold onto hope :heartbeat:, it sounds to me she's a tough lady, and after years of lurking here and then joining, nothing really surprises me anymore......keep the faith :hug:


:rose: susan
 
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