Search grows desperate for New Yorker who vanished in Scottish Highlands: ‘Hope for a miracle’

Rescue crews in the UK have deployed drones and search dogs to help locate a Westchester County hiker who went missing in the Scottish Highlands last week, authorities said.

Brian McGillicuddy, 64, of Harrison, was hiking on rugged terrain near Ben Nevis, Scotland’s highest peak, when he disappeared around 4 a.m. on Thursday, according to a Facebook post by the Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team, one of several crews involved in the search.

Over the weekend, drone pilots from the Search and Rescue Aerial Association joined the search.

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Brian McGillicuddy of Harrison, New York, was hiking in the Scottish Highlands when he went missing.Police Scotland Highland & Islands
“These experts and mostly volunteers have been searching tirelessly,” the missing man’s sister-in-law, Kirsten Swanson McGillicuddy, said in a Facebook post. “Bad weather the next couple of days on the mountain has made searching dangerous but it continues hopefully soon.

“I can’t even imagine what the teams have been through — or Brian.”

Swanson McGillicuddy and the missing man’s wife, Kym, are in Scotland for the search, which now includes at least 46 rescue crew members, three dogs and the drones.

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New Yorker Brian McGillidcuddy disappeared in the Scottish Highlands early Thursday.SARAA

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Ben Nevis, where Brian McGillicuddy disappeared, is Scotland’s highest peak.SARAA
“Brian is a legend among the climbing community, but is adored for so many other reasons and is a truly wonderful man,” she posted on Sunday.

The missing man’s roots in the upscale suburban town run deep — McGillicuddy Stadium at Harrison High School is named for his father, a former chairman and CEO of Manufacturer’s Trust, MyRye.com said.

“Extensive searches, involving specialist resources, are ongoing despite challenging conditions,” Scottish police Sgt. Gareth Ford said in a statement.

“We are not sure of Brian’s intended route, so I’m appealing to anyone who thinks they may have seen him, or someone matching the description, in the area on Thursday to come forward.”

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Brian McGillilcuddy, 64, is a resident of Harrison in Westchester County.Police Scotland Highland & Islands” Any information, no matter how small it may seem, could greatly assist our search teams.”

Meanwhile, his family continued to hold out hope he would be found.

“We hope for a miracle,” Swanson McGillicuddy said in a new post on Tuesday.