A distraught father has bought sonar equipment to help in the search for his missing son.
The technology will be used to examine the small lochs on South Uist in a bid to solve the mystery over the disappearance of 21-year-old nautical student Simon MacMillan, who vanished on Boxing Day.
Yesterday his father, Angus MacMillan, said: "We have got to find Simon."
Speaking after a meeting with senior officers from Northern Constabulary in Inverness to discuss the handling of the case, Mr MacMillan revealed: "I have bought the equipment myself from a firm in Aberdeen, but it is frequently used for underwater work in Holland.
"We haven't been able to use it yet as the lochans have been frozen over, but we want to get started as soon as we can."
The meeting followed public criticism of the police by the local community after the force announced last week that the official search was being stood down without first warning the family.
However, Mr MacMillan said he was very pleased with how the meeting had gone, and that liaison would be improved.
He said: "The meeting was very positive and I am reassured that everything possible is being done to find my son. I would like to acknowledge the hard work of the police and all the volunteers who have been assisting with the search."
The last reported sighting of Simon was at around 3am on Boxing Day in Linique, where he is believed to have got off a minibus taking revellers back from a Christmas dance at Daliburgh.
This would have left him more than two miles from his home at Ardmore.
At least another three young men are known to have alighted at this point, with two helping a drunken friend into his house.
The massive search has already involved hundreds of local people plus specialist teams of divers and search dogs, helicopters, boats, diggers, pumps and sophisticated camera equipment, but there is still no explanation as to what happened to Simon.
Linique is located in the Iochdar area of the island, which will be the focus of the sonar search.
It is wedged between Loch Bi, a large expanse of brackish water that has the main inter-island road traversing it on a causeway, and the South Ford, the sea channel that separates South Uist from its northern neighbour, Benbecula.
The land in and around Iochdar is punctuated by a series of small brackish lochans.
Some have sizeable reed beds around their periphery and most have already been searched, but it is hoped the sonar equipment will now reveal anything that has been missed.
Commenting on yesterday's meeting, Western Isles Area Commander Philip MacRae said: "It was to review all the work that has been done on the inquiry and to agree a way forward. The family are keen to keep certain aspects of the search open and as a result of the meeting there have been a number of areas of mutual agreement.
"The missing person inquiry into the disappearance has found no trace of Simon, nor any evidence of any suspicious circumstances. Inquiries are ongoing and the information which has been collated during the investigation is undergoing scrutiny for any further clues.
"Numerous and extensive searches, using police dog teams, divers, specialist search advisors and the Coastguard helicopter, have sadly failed to find Simon.
"Following further reviews to be carried out, Northern Constabulary will consider further searching.
"Regular liaison with the family will continue to keep them informed of the status of the inquiry."
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