A Sad Little Incident

Out on my bike this morning exploring the highways and byways of Perth's surrounding countryside. Close to Scone, near the Murrayshall Country Estate and Golf Course (where I took today's picture) I saw a notice pinned to a gatepost. It was a homemade production protected from the elements by a cut-down A4 plastic pocket. On closer inspection I saw it was a request for help to find a missing person. I recognised the grainy CCTV pictures of a man from a story I had read on the local newspaper website on Wednesday 22nd. The 39 year old man was from Glasgow but he had been captured on the CCTV cameras leaving Perth Station at lunchtime on Tuesday 21st.

As I was about to set off again a car pulled up behind me and I thought the driver was coming over to speak to me. However, he passed me by and quickly took the notice off the gatepost. My first instinct was to ask if the missing man had been found, but after a moment's thought I realised the possible insensitivity of that question, so I said nothing.

For the rest of my trip I wondered why the notice had been removed: was it a good or bad outcome? Once home, I checked the local newspaper website again to discover that a body had been found yesterday near Bridge of Earn, just south of Perth, and that the family of the missing man had been informed and the Police said there were no suspicious circumstances. This news saddened me and the only consolation I had was that I had not asked the man the question.