Search resumes on Mayo mountain for missing hillwalker

A search has resumed at Mweelrea Mountain, Co Mayo today for an experienced hillwalker who failed to return home.

The search began yesterday after family members contacted gardaí with concerns for his safety when he failed to return home following an overnight climb.

The man is said to be middle-aged and a very experienced hillwalker.

The area he was walking was “very strenuous” and would take “five or six hours” but should not present difficulties unless you got “caught in the mist or had a mishap along the way”, Colm Byrne spokesman for the Mayo Mountain Rescue Team said today.

“Being familiar with the mountain is not of huge benefit if the mist closes in...

this man was very experienced” he told RTÉ Radio.

Mr Byrne said the about 20 people were at the foot of the mountain for a search and a helicopter would also be searching the area. A rescue team from Galway was coming into help at about midday, he said.

The man left for the mountain on Tuesday evening and was due to camp over night and return yesterday. However, his family contacted gardaí after he failed to arrive. His mobile phone has also gone dead.

The search team were focused on finding his tent and have also put a boat in the nearby Doolough Lake. Mweelrea is the highest mountain in Connacht.