A BODY has been found close to where a father disappeared after visiting his baby daughter in hospital 10 days ago.
Stuart Campbell, 32, from Portgordon in Moray, was last seen outside the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary on Tuesday, August 12, where his 10-week-old daughter Isla was being treated for rib injuries.
Isla was taken to Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin by ambul
ance three days earlier after a 999 call reported she had fallen while under the care of her father in the family home in Portgordon.
She was later transferred to Aberdeen, but is now recovering at home.
It was the first time since Isla's birth that Campbell had looked after his baby daughter, along with her two-year-old brother Charlie, while his wife enjoyed a night out.
Since his disappearance, Campbell's wife Ashley, 23, and dozens of friends have appealed for him to return and handed out thousands of flyers carrying pictures of the housing association worker in the hope that someone might recognise him.
A body was found on Friday night down an embankment off Aberdeen's Great Northern Road, a mile from where he was last seen 12 days ago. A spokesman for Grampian Police said inquiries were at an early stage and added that formal identification would not take place until tomorrow.
On Thursday, Campbell's wife, a sales adviser, begged him to come home, saying: "Stuart, our daughter is improving on a daily basis and is no longer in hospital. If you read this, Stuart, please get in touch – your family miss you."
Friends of the father described him as "the best friend anyone could hope for", and neighbours said he was devoted to his children.
On his Bebo page, Campbell wrote about his joy at having a baby girl, and said he had "the perfect gentleman's family – one of each and a great mother".
Stuart Leon, 30, a lab technician from Portgordon, was best man at Campbell's wedding 13 months ago. He said last week: "I've known Stuart for 17 years. We were school friends. He's the best person I've ever met."
Divers had scoured the River Don and last weekend police searched woodlands close to where the body was found.
On Tuesday, Detective Inspector Stewart Kidd, who is leading the investigation, said he was growing more concerned for Campbell's safety and welfare as the days passed.
The full article contains 402 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
