Tributes have been paid to a “heroic” father and his 12-year-old son who are believed to have died after going missing while hillwalking in the Highlands.
Tom Parry, 49, and his son Richie had been due to return to their home in Cheshire on Wednesday after visiting Glen Nevis and Glencoe.
Police Scotland confirmed that two bodies had been found on Wednesday night after a huge search by mountain rescue teams. The force said they were yet to be formally identified but the family had been informed.
Specially trained police officers were on Thursday supporting Tom Parry’s wife and Richie’s mother, Gemma Parry, who said she was “heartbroken”.
A fellow hillwalker who said she met the pair on Ben Nevis on Monday described how they had been “so happy” and “really chuffed” to have reached the summit. The hiker, who was climbing the UK’s highest mountain with her partner and 14-year-old daughter, said they had congratulated the Parrys when they reached the top.
She said: “They were happy. They were really chuffed that they were up there. They were determined because they said they’d come all that way. They were just lovely, really lovely.”
The hiker, who did not want to be named, said she had given a statement to police because she wanted the family to know the father and son were happy and proud of themselves on Monday, 24 hours before they went missing.
She added: “It’s absolutely tragic. What’s so tragic is that the boy was saying he wants to climb mountains when he’s an adult. That could be any one of us. It’s just absolutely heartbreaking.”
The circumstances of the disappearance are not yet known but thundery downpours prompted a Met Office weather warning in Glencoe earlier this week. Glencoe mountain rescue team described the father and son as experienced hillwalkers.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said inquiries were ongoing but “there are no apparent suspicious circumstances”. Insp Craig Johnstone said: “Our thoughts are with all those involved. I would like to thank all emergency services and mountain rescue volunteers.”
The force said it would submit a report to the procurator fiscal service in due course.
One of Parry’s childhood friends, Bart Seaton-Said, paid tribute to a “heroic soul” and asked people to pray for Gemma Parry and Richie’s younger sibling. He wrote on social media: “He was loyal and sensitive to others and faced obstacles with fortitude. The world is the less for his passing.”
Parry worked for the Senate Group, a risk management company. In a statement, it said: “All of us at the Senate Group are devastated to have heard the tragic news about Tom and his son Richie today. Tom was a remarkable team member and friend, who was exceptionally hard working and dedicated to his role. He made consistently excellent contributions to our team that were greatly valued by all of us.”
The family are from the small market town of Alsager in Cheshire, about six miles east of Crewe. A spokesperson for St Mary’s church in the town said its prayers were with the Parry family and their friends and neighbours after the “shocking and devastating news”.
