UK UK - Neil Skinner, 72, last seen midday, camping close Loch Dochard, Scottish Highlands, 8 May 2022

[seasideForest]

I’m the guy that has been searching the Loch Dochard area and beyond with his dogs for the past 18 months, that has been posting regular updates on YouTube

Thank you for giving such detailed information in all your posts, especially as you're someone who's so well acquainted with the case and the area. Things like knowing exactly where in the loch a drowned body would collect and that stepping stones would prevent a body flowing out - really valuable knowledge. On the ground information is so valuable to narrow down search and to help prevent wild speculations and regurgitating thereof which ends up clouding the threads imho.

I won't be searching, I don't even live in Scotland anymore, but having lived there and been hill-walking from childhood onwards, I do follow these sorts of threads a bit.

How sad to read that Neil was a kind man who (presumably) gave his coat to someone else in need since he wouldn't be needing his own where he was going. Depression is a terrible illness, creates such a warp of reality imo and ime.

Whereever Neil is, I hope he's at peace.

MOO

 

[touch]

Are we sure the jacket story is correct?

He was wearing a green jacket when seen by the witness on the path just south of the loch. This was after his walking companions had left him so could not have been swapped after that sighting. The witness said he was wearing the jacket so the jacket he had at that time can't have been too small for him to put on.

The BBC also said it was his own jacket:

Neil, 72, from Doncaster in South Yorkshire, was last seen in his green jacket

The strangers searching for missing hiker Neil Skinner

A year after Neil Skinner vanished, a volunteer search party returned to where he was last seen.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Deleted member 350032]

I agree. Meall 'an Araich is a likely spot.

I have been very sceptical about the narrative that we have been given, but there may be things we don't know fully. He perhaps persuaded his friends to leave him and they feel a bit guilty.

Hopefully Neil will be found soon and his family get closure.

Yes from the beginning too many red flags and different reports of what happened, my friend and myself covered every angle from foul play to accident, even some kind of medical episode but we couldn’t fit the pieces together, it just wouldn’t work

I believe as a family member stated on this forum only months after Neil disappeared , that there was no camp, no turning back, in the family members words ‘the friends left Neil at the loch with 5 or 6 days food’

I also believe as you stated, Neil shook his friends off, they persuaded that he would be fine, after this persuasion they reluctantly decided to carry on but only after giving Neil the spare car key so in an emergency Neil could go to the car at Victoria Park

I also believe that the time Neil disappeared on the Isle of Skye and his disappearance from Loch Dochard are linked. His daughter stated on a podcast that his disappearance on Skye was due to him separating from his friends because they wanted to hike on higher ground whereas Neil wanted to walk the lower areas, however after five hours of going missing, mrt being called out, helicopters in the air, Neil is located on his way coming down from the higher areas. This could have been Neil’s first attempt to call it a day but he backed out. The very next occasion he is in Scotland at Loch Dochard, he goes missing again, again after separating from his friends

Remember Neil went missing in Skye in 2021, then 2022, during 2020 and 2021 the country was in several lockdowns due to Covid, we still don’t know how these lockdowns affected peoples mental health, especially those that suffered from depression

 

[Deleted member 350032]

Are we sure the jacket story is correct?

He was wearing a green jacket when seen by the witness on the path just south of the loch. This was after his walking companions had left him so could not have been swapped after that sighting. The witness said he was wearing the jacket so the jacket he had at that time can't have been too small for him to put on.

The BBC also said it was his own jacket:

The strangers searching for missing hiker Neil Skinner

A year after Neil Skinner vanished, a volunteer search party returned to where he was last seen.

www.bbc.co.uk

Something I learnt after many months of doing these searches is the reports stated are at times incorrect, details are added or exaggerated

I spoke to the police rescue team at Glen Pean when we were searching for missing hiker Paul Conway, thankfully he was found safe and well

In those reports, Paul was reported (by his daughter) of signing the Corryhully Bothy at Glenfinnan, hence the Bothy books at Glen Pean had not been signed by Paul so he must have failed to reach the area

When I stated this to the police rescue team they told me these reports were false, they had personally checked, in fact Paul was ‘only’ seen near Corryhully Bothy

So as you can see, it’s like the fog of war, Chinese whispers or just simply a mistake

As for the female friend that was hiking with her partner and Neil at Loch Dochard, I can assure you her coat would not have fitted Neil unless it was four times bigger, I have seen her photos on Facebook posts

 

[Deleted member 350032]

Thank you for giving such detailed information in all your posts, especially as you're someone who's so well acquainted with the case and the area. Things like knowing exactly where in the loch a drowned body would collect and that stepping stones would prevent a body flowing out - really valuable knowledge. On the ground information is so valuable to narrow down search and to help prevent wild speculations and regurgitating thereof which ends up clouding the threads imho.

I won't be searching, I don't even live in Scotland anymore, but having lived there and been hill-walking from childhood onwards, I do follow these sorts of threads a bit.

How sad to read that Neil was a kind man who (presumably) gave his coat to someone else in need since he wouldn't be needing his own where he was going. Depression is a terrible illness, creates such a warp of reality imo and ime.

Whereever Neil is, I hope he's at peace.

MOO

Thank you for your kind words, they do mean so much because after two years of searching I do sometimes as myself ‘am I wasting my time, is it worth it’ especially in the snow, rain or freezing temperatures in the early hours of the mornings after eight or ten hour drives

 

[ZeroAlpha]

Yes from the beginning too many red flags and different reports of what happened, my friend and myself covered every angle from foul play to accident, even some kind of medical episode but we couldn’t fit the pieces together, it just wouldn’t work

I believe as a family member stated on this forum only months after Neil disappeared , that there was no camp, no turning back, in the family members words ‘the friends left Neil at the loch with 5 or 6 days food’

I also believe as you stated, Neil shook his friends off, they persuaded that he would be fine, after this persuasion they reluctantly decided to carry on but only after giving Neil the spare car key so in an emergency Neil could go to the car at Victoria Park

I also believe that the time Neil disappeared on the Isle of Skye and his disappearance from Loch Dochard are linked. His daughter stated on a podcast that his disappearance on Skye was due to him separating from his friends because they wanted to hike on higher ground whereas Neil wanted to walk the lower areas, however after five hours of going missing, mrt being called out, helicopters in the air, Neil is located on his way coming down from the higher areas. This could have been Neil’s first attempt to call it a day but he backed out. The very next occasion he is in Scotland at Loch Dochard, he goes missing again, again after separating from his friends

Remember Neil went missing in Skye in 2021, then 2022, during 2020 and 2021 the country was in several lockdowns due to Covid, we still don’t know how these lockdowns affected peoples mental health, especially those that suffered from depression

I hadn't thought about that, but you are possibly on to something with regard to the Skye incident.

 

[Deleted member 350032]

Are we sure the jacket story is correct?

He was wearing a green jacket when seen by the witness on the path just south of the loch. This was after his walking companions had left him so could not have been swapped after that sighting. The witness said he was wearing the jacket so the jacket he had at that time can't have been too small for him to put on.

The BBC also said it was his own jacket:

The strangers searching for missing hiker Neil Skinner

A year after Neil Skinner vanished, a volunteer search party returned to where he was last seen.

www.bbc.co.uk

The only trusted source I ever rely on is that coming from the police, their statement just states Neil’s last known location was ‘just south of Loch Dochard’

 

[ZeroAlpha]

Thank you for your kind words, they do mean so much because after two years of searching I do sometimes as myself ‘am I wasting my time, is it worth it’ especially in the snow, rain or freezing temperatures in the early hours of the mornings after eight or ten hour drives

Yep, great effort. I have enjoyed watching your videos and your 4 legged companions out and about, of course not in the best circumstances.

I had a search around Loch Tulla a couple of times and along the military road. Been meaning to get back to Loch Dochard but the snow will be coming and the ground search is not ideal.

 

[Deleted member 350032]

Yep, great effort. I have enjoyed watching your videos and your 4 legged companions out and about, of course not in the best circumstances.

I had a search around Loch Tulla a couple of times and along the military road. Been meaning to get back to Loch Dochard but the snow will be coming and the ground search is not ideal.

That is a very good area to search , Loch Tulla, because if a body was washed down from Loch Dochard then that is where it would end up, possibly on the shores of the Loch, which is a very big loch

Again some areas are very sketchy, weeds, bog, hidden holes so anyone carrying searches around this loch please be careful

 

[touch]

The only trusted source I ever rely on is that coming from the police, their statement just states Neil’s last known location was ‘just south of Loch Dochard’

The Police Scotland missing persons page for him says he was wearing the jacket when he was last seen.

When last seen he was wearing a green jacket and grey walking trousers.

Neil Skinner

Neil Skinner

www.scotland.police.uk

 

[Deleted member 350032]

The Police Scotland missing persons page for him says he was wearing the jacket when he was last seen.

Neil Skinner

Neil Skinner

www.scotland.police.uk

Yes but it doesn’t state it was the female friends jacket, in the latest photo that I can find of Neil aged 70 he appears to be wearing what is known as a bushwhackers wax jacket. I have seen other photos of him in similar jackets over the years

This then confirms my belief that the story of swapping jackets was made up so I as to tie Neil to a red jacket as shown in the missing posters, Neil aged 60 and not 72

This is what Neil looked like at 70, nothing similar to the missing posters pictures of him

Hence was the sighting of Neil anyway if the posters and even the police photo show a man 12 years younger ?

 

[Deleted member 350032]

The Police Scotland missing persons page for him says he was wearing the jacket when he was last seen.

Neil Skinner

Neil Skinner

www.scotland.police.uk

When I spoke to his daughter about the description of what Neil was wearing even she was not completely sure, I was told black or grey trousers, at first a green coat, then a red coat, it was all so vague

Police can only report what they are informed as well, which explains how the police have provided a photo of Neil at the age of 60 and not one of him at 70, taken only two years before he disappeared

Note the colour of the jacket in the photo I have shown appears to be greenish in the light

 

[Deleted member 350032]

The Police Scotland missing persons page for him says he was wearing the jacket when he was last seen.

Neil Skinner

Neil Skinner

www.scotland.police.uk

Now does this photo even resemble Neil at the age when he went missing in 2022?

This is the photo the police are using, just shows they can even be duped

 

[stu112]

Thank you for your kind words, they do mean so much because after two years of searching I do sometimes as myself ‘am I wasting my time, is it worth it’ especially in the snow, rain or freezing temperatures in the early hours of the mornings after eight or ten hour drives

Your doing a great thing mate, just make sure you stay safe and don't put yourself in danger with Winter closing in.

 

[Deleted member 350032]

Your doing a great thing mate, just make sure you stay safe and don't put yourself in danger with Winter closing in.

Thank you, thankfully my dogs have my back, they look after me, best search buddies you could wish for

 

[seasideForest]

Something I learnt after many months of doing these searches is the reports stated are at times incorrect, details are added or exaggerated

I spoke to the police rescue team at Glen Pean when we were searching for missing hiker Paul Conway, thankfully he was found safe and well

In those reports, Paul was reported (by his daughter) of signing the Corryhully Bothy at Glenfinnan, hence the Bothy books at Glen Pean had not been signed by Paul so he must have failed to reach the area

When I stated this to the police rescue team they told me these reports were false, they had personally checked, in fact Paul was ‘only’ seen near Corryhully Bothy

So as you can see, it’s like the fog of war, Chinese whispers or just simply a mistake

RSBM
BBM My goodness! You want to be able to rely on reports and descriptions, but apparently you can't. I do know that eye-witnesses can be pretty unreliable. The brain puts in things the eye never saw, among other sources for inaccuracy. (I'm a very unreliable eye-witness.) The brain doing weird things is not even an attempt to mislead searchers.

It seems you help a lot with searches in Scotland, if you spoke to the police rescue team about Paul Conway missing. Very admirable, really. Hours and hours through rain and snow and freezing temperatures as you say. Plus not knowing if the facts presented really are facts. That would do my head in. I have a lot of respect for people like you who help in these ways. I do do a little volunteer work here and there and also sometimes wonder if it's worth it. It's easy to get discouraged but for me it's also easier to see somebody else's work as 'worth it'. And I think yours is!!

(OTT: iirc I made a thread here about Paul Conway when he went missing but I posted it badly in some way and the thread was taken down. I was overjoyed to see in some online report that he had in fact turned up! It seems to me that people missing up in the hills and mountains tend to remain missing or be found deceased, tho my impression may be inaccurate as it's not based on any facts.)

MOO

 

[HongKongPhooey]

Thank you, thankfully my dogs have my back, they look after me, best search buddies you could wish for

Wishing you all the best, you’re one of life’s good guys, doing what you do. I hope Neil will one day be found and brought home to his family.

 

[ZeroAlpha]

The only trusted source I ever rely on is that coming from the police, their statement just states Neil’s last known location was ‘just south of Loch Dochard’

So was this sighting on the main path that goes past the loch, or was this in reference to Neil's campsite on the peninsula?

 

[Deleted member 350032]

So was this sighting on the main path that goes past the loch, or was this in reference to Neil's campsite on the peninsula?

That is the question we have been asking for the past two years and still don’t know

You will hear other reports of sightings here and there but again it’s a mish mash of reports that are misidentified reports or people wanting to help but again muddying the waters so to speak , none are verified reports that the police have taken serious

It’s hard to believe that any sightings could be based on the photos that were released when in reality Neil looked totally different due to the released photos being some ten to fifteen years old. Then take into account he may have been wearing a red jacket in those incorrectly released photos but in reality he was in fact wearing a green wax jacket

It’s my belief that those early photos were released so as to show Neil in a red jacket, with a backpack on his back, looking fit and strong, a typical outdoors person in his prime

Again reality was, Neil had aged, he had health issues, looked frail, had not been outdoors hiking for several years, liked his whisky, suffered from depression, had suffered a bleed on the brain several years earlier that of course had taken its toll, and was on medication

I believe, those earlier aged photos of Neil were released so as to protect the two friends that left him at the loch, if people saw a photo of an old frail looking man then more anger would be directed at the two friends, I understand why this was done but again it muddied the waters

I wish to add I don’t believe the two friends done much wrong, I believe Neil persuaded the two friends to carry on, he probably was very strong with this persuasion and reluctantly the two friends left Neil BUT the very next day they returned not because of heavy rain but because they were suspicious of the way Neil had acted

 

[Deleted member 350032]

RSBM
BBM My goodness! You want to be able to rely on reports and descriptions, but apparently you can't. I do know that eye-witnesses can be pretty unreliable. The brain puts in things the eye never saw, among other sources for inaccuracy. (I'm a very unreliable eye-witness.) The brain doing weird things is not even an attempt to mislead searchers.

It seems you help a lot with searches in Scotland, if you spoke to the police rescue team about Paul Conway missing. Very admirable, really. Hours and hours through rain and snow and freezing temperatures as you say. Plus not knowing if the facts presented really are facts. That would do my head in. I have a lot of respect for people like you who help in these ways. I do do a little volunteer work here and there and also sometimes wonder if it's worth it. It's easy to get discouraged but for me it's also easier to see somebody else's work as 'worth it'. And I think yours is!!

(OTT: iirc I made a thread here about Paul Conway when he went missing but I posted it badly in some way and the thread was taken down. I was overjoyed to see in some online report that he had in fact turned up! It seems to me that people missing up in the hills and mountains tend to remain missing or be found deceased, tho my impression may be inaccurate as it's not based on any facts.)

MOO

There is a lot I have found out surrounding this case that I cannot go into on this forum for obvious reasons

I got the chance to speak to the Police Rescue team during the search for missing hiker Paul Conway, i voiced my concerns, passed on various information , the very next day that i spoke to the police both police and mrt rescue team landrovers were spotted at Loch Dochard at an area of interest I had pointed out, coincidence? maybe ?

Several strange and uncanny bits of information that many won’t know is first, Ordnance Survey maps were found on Neil’s bed in his room by his daughter when she checked days after he had gone missing. Very strange for someone that didn’t use maps or any navigation devices, could it mean knew where he was going and had been checking the area out days before he even set off for Scotland?

The second is very uncanny, Neil posted a review of the campsite ‘Tyndrum By The Way’ which I am guessing he has stopped at several times in the past. He posted this review on his Facebook profile that is still public today. I believe this review was posted in 2016.
In this review Neil states ‘ Great stop for 1st place before losing ourselves in the mountains’

Now I know we all make flippant remarks and joke about similar things in statements but how uncanny is it that Neil predicted his own disappearance some six years earlier