HM Coastguard stood down the Jim Withers Arran Ferry Search at about 04:55 on 19 October after a man from Johnstone fell overboard from MV Caledonian Isles east of Arran. The search began after reports of an incident onboard the ferry at about 20:30 on Sunday, and no one was found.
HM Coastguard coordinated the rescue mission with Police Scotland, the RNLI and CalMac. The search involved two helicopters and an airplane from HM Coastguard, along with two RNLI crews from Girvan and Campbeltown.
MV Caledonian Isles search
An HM Coastguard spokesperson said: "Two HM Coastguard helicopters and an HM Coastguard airplane were sent to search as well as Coastguard Rescue Teams from Arran, Ayr, Ardrossan and Greenock, plus RNLI lifeboats from Girvan and Campbeltown." The same spokesperson said: "After an extensive search no one was found and the HM Coastguard response was stood down at about 4.55am on 19 October, pending any new information."
Police Scotland said it is assisting partners with a missing persons case. CalMac said: "The crew from MV Caledonian Isles are assisting Police Scotland and HM Coastguard with an ongoing enquiry regarding a missing person."
Girvan and Campbeltown
An RNLI spokesperson said: "the Girvan RNLI team was launched just before 23:00 on 18 October, and Campbeltown RNLI launched shortly after 00:00, to support HM Coastguard in a search for a missing person overboard." The sequence shows how quickly the response widened from a report onboard to a coordinated search across air and sea before it was brought to a close in the early hours.
For the missing man from Johnstone, the search has stopped without a result, and the continuing enquiry now sits with Police Scotland and HM Coastguard.
