Leuchars and Kinloss returned to base, having been employed on this search - and the unnecessary one for the man who hadn't gone up Ben Macdhui - for three days under the most gruelling conditions. The following day Kinloss were called out to an aircraft which had crashed at Dalmally. Conditions now deteriorated to such an extent that there could be no more searches for three days until Sunday, April 17th. That day parties concentrated on the Lairig Ghru, still with no result. More snow fell and although the RAF undertook no more official searches, unofficial ones continued.

The most indefatigable person, who went out continually on his own initiative, was Jean MacBain's brother. Two months after she had disappeared he found her, beside Caiplich Water, seven miles from Cairngorm, and alone. She was lying head downwards above the burn, probably in the position in which she had fallen. Her rucksack was a few yards higher. One shoe was missing. (She had been wearing crepe-soled walking shoes.) The RAF brought the body down.

Knowing now the rough area in which to look, police and civilians went out the following weekend and, searching the north-east slopes of Cairngorm, found Milne's body two hundred yards from the path, between the Barns of Bynack and Ryvoan Bothy.

It was fairly easy for the rescuers to trace their movements. They must have been (originally) on the right path. It was thought that they had gone down to Loch Avon from Cairngorm by way of Coire Raibert. They would follow the shore to the outlet and then descend, following the river, until they met the path which would take them back eventually to Glenmore. But the car park was nearly ten miles distant, and it is not known what time they arrived at this point, nor how tired they were. Although there was no record of a blizzard that night, the mist was down and snow fell. The path would probably be blotted out and untracked. There were no torches, compasses or maps on the bodies. Neither had any spare clothing, and the man had no gloves, hat or scarf when found.

They must have followed the path northwards for three miles, until, in fact, Milne collapsed on the slope of Bynack Mor, and the girl went on. Milne died at an altitude of roughly 2,500 feet. At this point the path was rising to come over the hill before the long easy descent to Strath Nethy and Glenmore. She had only one hundred feet or so of height to gain, but the rescuers thought that it was this rising ground ahead which forced her off the correct line. So she headed north-east, and perhaps she found a burn and followed it. Since she Continue to page 8