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

Ah so it was just a 'sighting' at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel, I wonder why the Police are confident it was a 'confirmed sighting'?

I wonder if they have searched along the railway line or the woodland surrounding the area?

He would have needed to find shelter, so where does he go? The railways stations as you pointed out would be excellent - if they are open - I don't see any reason why they wouldn't be.

Does he go into the woodland? Does he cycle down one of the roads that leave the main road? Is it possible he flags down a vehicle that gives him a lift some of the way? Or try to get a bus heading through to Glasgow?

Intriguing.
 
Ah so it was just a 'sighting' at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel, I wonder why the Police are confident it was a 'confirmed sighting'?

Maybe he sat outside the hotel for a while to rest, spoke to someone who therefore got a good view of him, or even went into the hotel bar for a quick drink or to buy some food such as bags of crisps or confectionary. I would imagine that he would need to rest a while and have something to eat if he made it this far.

Or try to get a bus heading through to Glasgow?

Timetable for southbound buses from Bridge of Orchy:

https://bustimes.org.uk/stops/60709664

These are coach services operated by Scottish Citylink rather than local bus services, so I think it likely that the baggage hold could have taken a bike subject to space being available. However the timings would not have been helpful for Tony.

914 - 08.49
915 - 12.04 and 15.04
916 - 20.14

There may have been additional services in September as Citylink would probably have been operating their summer timetable then, but it still seems likely that he would have had to find somewhere to spend the night. Certainly I would expect a driver to remember putting a bike in the hold if that had happened.
 
That's going to make finding anything out there much harder, especially as winter goes on. Hopefully there will be some resolution in this case.

The police don't seem to be saying much about the case. I've been wondering if he could have taken a wrong turn off the main road onto one of the minor roads which meander up into the hills and peter out into a dead end but I think he'd have worked out pretty clearly that he was on the wrong road if that was the case, especially if he was becoming tired.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks to me as though his route would have been the A82 to Crianlarich, the A85 to Lochearnhead and the A84 to Stirling. There are other major roads that he could have taken by mistake, including the A82 from Crianlarich towards Oban, the A827 at Lix and staying on the A85 at Lochearnhead, but there's no information as to whether the sides of these roads have been searched.

I really don't know what to think about this case. I wonder how fit he was in reality and how far he could have got given his age. Just because he was in the forces years previously means nothing in retirement, especially as I doubt those serving in the RN would ever have been as fit as army blokes.
 
I wonder how fit he was in reality and how far he could have got given his age. Just because he was in the forces years previously means nothing in retirement, especially as I doubt those serving in the RN would ever have been as fit as army blokes.

The police description of him is "stocky" which suggests to me that he was overweight, and the photograph of him which has been released to the media suggests him being rather chunky.

Has it been said who reported him missing? There's been no mention that I've seen of a wife or children, but there's clearly one or more children out of shot in the released photo. The hands suggest a kid of about 10-12 years old and a 4-5 year old to me - presumably he has grandchildren and therefore at least one (adult) child.
 
The police don't seem to be saying much about the case. I've been wondering if he could have taken a wrong turn off the main road onto one of the minor roads which meander up into the hills and peter out into a dead end but I think he'd have worked out pretty clearly that he was on the wrong road if that was the case, especially if he was becoming tired.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks to me as though his route would have been the A82 to Crianlarich, the A85 to Lochearnhead and the A84 to Stirling. There are other major roads that he could have taken by mistake, including the A82 from Crianlarich towards Oban, the A827 at Lix and staying on the A85 at Lochearnhead, but there's no information as to whether the sides of these roads have been searched.

I really don't know what to think about this case. I wonder how fit he was in reality and how far he could have got given his age. Just because he was in the forces years previously means nothing in retirement, especially as I doubt those serving in the RN would ever have been as fit as army blokes.

I agree with the route you suggested. That definitely seems to make the most sense.
Yes, to go off the main road onto a smaller side road seems possible, but I struggle to imagine that he would keep going for any great distance on those roads - the surface would deteriorate and the size of the road would change. I imagine that by 250m off route you would definitely realise, turn around and go back to the main road. However I suppose we must remain open to all possibilities.

As for his fitness - as I said in my earlier posts, it is clear from the CCTV captures of him that he was severely ill-equipped to ride 100 mi. Everything was wrong, from the type of bike he was riding, to his gear, amount of baggage and even his weight. I do not believe that he was anywhere near prepared to ride a century.


The police description of him is "stocky" which suggests to me that he was overweight, and the photograph of him which has been released to the media suggests him being rather chunky.

Has it been said who reported him missing? There's been no mention that I've seen of a wife or children, but there's clearly one or more children out of shot in the released photo. The hands suggest a kid of about 10-12 years old and a 4-5 year old to me - presumably he has grandchildren and therefore at least one (adult) child.

I haven't seen who reported him missing. However I did see a comment on the Forth Valley Police facebook post by someone tagging someone who is apparently his daughter-in-law. They have the same surname. I presume that means he has an adult son.
On another post by the FVP, I saw a comment by someone who said they thought they had seen him around 21:30 near the Glencoe Ski center, which is just a few minutes off the A82.
 
The police don't seem to be saying much about the case. I've been wondering if he could have taken a wrong turn off the main road onto one of the minor roads which meander up into the hills and peter out into a dead end but I think he'd have worked out pretty clearly that he was on the wrong road if that was the case, especially if he was becoming tired.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks to me as though his route would have been the A82 to Crianlarich, the A85 to Lochearnhead and the A84 to Stirling. There are other major roads that he could have taken by mistake, including the A82 from Crianlarich towards Oban, the A827 at Lix and staying on the A85 at Lochearnhead, but there's no information as to whether the sides of these roads have been searched.

I really don't know what to think about this case. I wonder how fit he was in reality and how far he could have got given his age. Just because he was in the forces years previously means nothing in retirement, especially as I doubt those serving in the RN would ever have been as fit as army blokes.

Ex forces means very little. I know a lot who are terribly unfit. Some like to keep in shape after leaving but many don't bother.

There are lots of routes he could have taken by mistake, It would be good if the Police and Rescue folk would say exactly what has been and what has not been searched.

For people like myself that do a lot of walking in the more remote parts of this area it would be handy to know to keep an eye out.
 
It must be safe to assume that the entire stretch from Bridge of Orchy to Tyndrum and then Crianlarich has been searched.

The area from Glencoe village to Bridge of Orchy and from Tyndrum or Crianlarich to his home will have been looked at as well (I hope).

Kidnapping, lying somewhere and still not found or he wanted to disappear.
 
I am just back from a holiday in Argyll. During which I traveled to Fort William and then followed the route down through Glen Coe and over the Rannoch Moor. I didn't make the journey at night but the weather was poor.

I made a point of going down the road from the main A82 down towards the Kingshouse hotel. The hotel is currently - and would have been at the time of Tony's disappearance - closed for renovation work. The sign at the road end doesn't reflect that fact, so people may still travel down thinking the hotel is open for business.

I walked a number of sections of the road and noted a number of areas where in poor light a cyclist may leave the road, however this is a busy road and a busy area so I would have expected him to have been located if it was a simple matter of being knocked off or going off the road.

The Glen and surrounding areas are now blanketed with snow.

I'll write up better notes later but I suspect he isn't lying somewhere. Very possible something else has happened.

Its almost 4 weeks since last police appeal and there doesn't appear to be any active search currently going on.

There are a few locations that I may go back and look at in the coming days if I get a chance to.

The police and SAR teams that know the area better than most will have checked, so everything points to Tony not missing in the Glencoe-Tyndrum area.
 
I am just back from a holiday in Argyll. During which I traveled to Fort William and then followed the route down through Glen Coe and over the Rannoch Moor. I didn't make the journey at night but the weather was poor.

I made a point of going down the road from the main A82 down towards the Kingshouse hotel. The hotel is currently - and would have been at the time of Tony's disappearance - closed for renovation work. The sign at the road end doesn't reflect that fact, so people may still travel down thinking the hotel is open for business.

I walked a number of sections of the road and noted a number of areas where in poor light a cyclist may leave the road, however this is a busy road and a busy area so I would have expected him to have been located if it was a simple matter of being knocked off or going off the road.

The Glen and surrounding areas are now blanketed with snow.

I'll write up better notes later but I suspect he isn't lying somewhere. Very possible something else has happened.

Its almost 4 weeks since last police appeal and there doesn't appear to be any active search currently going on.

There are a few locations that I may go back and look at in the coming days if I get a chance to.

The police and SAR teams that know the area better than most will have checked, so everything points to Tony not missing in the Glencoe-Tyndrum area.
Wow, brilliant info. Thanks. Looking forward to seeing your notes!

Sent from my Mi-4c using Tapatalk
 
I'll write up better notes later but I suspect he isn't lying somewhere. Very possible something else has happened.

Good work, Taskforce. Having boots or wheels on the ground makes for a good report.

So what do you think could have happened? That he's come to grief somewhere well outside the area we know the police have been searching?

I'm very much inclined to discount kidnapping because - well why would anyone kidnap a 63 year old bloke on a bike?

What use would he be to any kidnapper?

Unless he was knocked of his bike and his bike and body removed from the scene. But then, could one person on his own really lug a man of his size into a vehicle?
 
Wow, brilliant info. Thanks. Looking forward to seeing your notes!

Sent from my Mi-4c using Tapatalk

No problem. It wont help the search but may give those that don't know the area a better understanding.
 
Good work, Taskforce. Having boots or wheels on the ground makes for a good report.

So what do you think could have happened? That he's come to grief somewhere well outside the area we know the police have been searching?

I'm very much inclined to discount kidnapping because - well why would anyone kidnap a 63 year old bloke on a bike?

What use would he be to any kidnapper?

Unless he was knocked of his bike and his bike and body removed from the scene. But then, could one person on his own really lug a man of his size into a vehicle?

Cheers.

The kidnapping theory I said can probably be discounted, yep.

The theory that he got knocked off and then taken away by the driver can probably be discounted, for the reasons you stated. I cant see anyone taking a man of his size and a bike in a vehicle on their own.

That leaves us with:

Still lying somewhere unnoticed along his route home;
Hidden away in a remote area and still to be found;
Decided to disappear on his own accord

I'm not sure that just because he isn't on CCTV at Tyndrum that he didn't pass through.

Of course he may have doubled back on himself at someone during the ride.
 
That leaves us with:

Still lying somewhere unnoticed along his route home;

Very much the most likely to my mind. For much of his route home there aren't many options road-wise so it wouldn't be a huge job for a half decent cyclist to cycle them and check the roadsides.

Hidden away in a remote area and still to be found;

Given that he seems to have gone missing overnight, it doesn't seem to me very likely that he would have chosen to go off-road in the prevailing conditions. From looking at the maps and satellite view, there don't seem to be very many places where a cyclist could go so seriously wrong without realising very quickly that he had done so.

Decided to disappear on his own accord

That seems unlikely to me. Disappearing and creating a new identity in the UK is nigh on impossible these days. There would be additional problems for a man of 63 who would find it very difficult to get any sort of employment, who doesn't yet qualify for his state pension and who would have to turn his back on his RN pension.

I'm not sure that just because he isn't on CCTV at Tyndrum that he didn't pass through.

Of course he may have doubled back on himself at someone during the ride.

Agreed.
 
Yep, agree.

I meant to add that I don't believe he is lying somewhere between Bridge of Orchy and Tyndrum, but that the most likely scenario is that he is lying elsewhere.

A few hundred yards past the Bridge of Orchy hotel there is a road on the right that takes you down Glen Orchy, its possible he went down there but again it would be very obvious that you are leaving the main road.
 
I still can't get my head around what this man was thinking doing this overnight. When police scotland first shared this on fb, I was mighty confused by the timeline, I had wrongly assumed he had got the train up and was staying overnight before cycling back the next day and had actually gone missing from the hotel.
 
Are there ponds and other bodies of water close to the roads? From the map posted earlier it looks like there are. Maybe he went a little bit off road to relieve himself and rode into a pond? It would explain why he hasn't been found.

Asking because something like this happened to me once. Although I had a torch I was not able to see that the little path I was on led straight to the edge of a small overgrown pond. Because of the plants the water was not visible and I suddenly and without any warning slipped into it. I was fortunate that there was a tree right there with low hanging branches I was able to grab to pull myself back out.

If he fell into water while riding, his body could also be trapped under the bicycle, hence it didn't float.

Just a thought. It is hard to see water at night if there's no strong moon, as I learned that day.
 
If he fell into water while riding, his body could also be trapped under the bicycle, hence it didn't float.

An interesting idea. From what I know, bodies which sink in water will almost always come back to the surface due to decomposition gases in the abdomen. However, a quick search does not indicate how much weight would be needed to overcome that natural buoyancy and keep the body underwater. Postings on this mountain bike forum suggest that 30lb +/- is the typical weight of a mountain bike:

http://forums.mtbr.com/all-mountain/whats-average-weight-modern-mountain-bikes-784873.html
 

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