Family of missing Andrew Linton appeal for national news help

Andrew was last seen on Wednesday, February 22 - and Police Scotland have also re-appealed for information from the public as they continue their attempts to trace him.

We visited Andrew's home in Corsehill in Kilwinning, where his wife Alison, sister Hayley Craig, and parents Bertha and Andrew made their pleas.

The last confirmed sighting of Andrew was at 5.35am on the day of his disappearance, and both his family and police have had little to work with since.

Police now say it is thought Andrew may have entered Eglinton Country Park, however there have been no confirmed sightings of him.

Officers also confirmed that searches of the area remain ongoing with the help of specialist and local resources.

But gathering more national media coverage - particularly from TV broadcasters - is now a major focus for Andrew's family.

“We don’t know what’s happened," Alison said. "We’re still in limbo here. We don’t know where he’s gone, what directions he’s gone or why’s he’s gone."

Hayley added: “I know it’s a month down the line now. I know cameras and dash cams might record over. But we’re trying to appeal to the public to help us with that, just to give us a direction to go on, because we don’t have one at all.

“He’s not got into his own car or anything. He left here on foot. But what if someone picked him up?

“He’s got his work clothes on so what if he’s just said to someone ‘I’m late for my work, can you just drop me off here?’

“We’ve got nothing to go on, so I just can’t understand why we can’t get it on the news.

“I could understand if there was a sighting to go on, and they knew the area he was in, but the fact that there’s not a sighting would make it more viable.

“We need something to go on to go further. Until we get that it feels like we’re just stuck in limbo.”

And Hayley also said that TV coverage specifically could help find new information, given not everyone will have access to what has been published so far.

She continued: “My friend stays in Irvine, and Andrew had been missing for three or four days before he even knew about it.

“He doesn’t do social media, and he doesn’t read a paper, so he didn’t realise.

“That’s why we want to try and reach out to people who don’t have social media.

“They might not have it but they have a dash cam, or they saw him somewhere.

“We’re just trying to get it out there and we feel like we’re getting knocked back.

“Every single missing person is a high risk at the end of the day. They should be treated the same.”

That feeling was one shared by both Alison and Bertha.

“We want to understand why it’s not making TV news," Alison said.

"If you’ve not got a sighting why not make it national in case he has got any further?"

Bertha added: “One sighting is all we need. We’re not asking for a miracle. We’re only asking for them to put his picture on the telly, asking ‘has anyone seen this man?’”

TV, however, is not the only place the family hopes to expand its appeals.

Andrew Linton is a much loved family man (Image: Submitted)

Alison added: “There’s so many farm places here, so we’re appealing to farmers to look about their fields too – just in case he’s taken cover somewhere or slept somewhere.”

A similar message was also highlighted in Police Scotland's most recent appeal for public assistance.

Inspector David Cameron said: “It’s been four weeks to the day since Andrew was last seen. He’s not been in contact with family or friends and we’ve had no confirmed sightings of him.

“We’re extremely concerned for his welfare and urgently need the public’s help to find him.

“Extensive land and water searches have been taking place in Eglinton Park and various areas across North Ayrshire, but we know the area Andrew was last seen is very near to rural lands, and I would urge locals to please check sheds and outbuildings.

“As our searches continue, it’s vital we receive any possible sightings from the public to help guide us.

"Were you in the area at the time and saw someone matching Andrew’s description? Please come forward.

"Any information, no matter how significant, could help.”

Andrew's family have also added extra details to the description of him previously circulated by police.

Andrew is described as white, around 5ft 6in tall, of stocky build, and speaks with a local Ayrshire accent.

He was last seen wearing a blue polo shirt, a light-coloured beanie hat, dark blue cargo trousers and black boots.

It is believed he may be wearing a grey hooded jumper and carrying a red and grey ‘Karrimor’ rucksack with laces crisscrossed on the front of the bag.

Alison added: “He’s going to be rough shaved now, he’ll have some hair on his head as well.”

Bertha added: “You can pick out Andrew’s eyebrows. They’re very prominent.

“If he went into a shop away from here with something like a mask on, you’d still see his bushy eyebrows, and he’s got quite long eyelashes.”

And they further emphasised just how out of character the disappearance of the much-loved family man is.

"He’s a creature of habit," Alison said. "He does the same thing at the same time every day.

“To go to his bed as normal and waking up to him not being here, is a worry for everybody because we don’t know why.

“We can’t think what’s triggered it. He’d been on the phone to Hayley, Facetiming his granddaughter – it was a normal Tuesday night.

“During the four weeks, he’s missed out on a trip with family to Loch Lomond and his mum and dad’s 50th anniversary, which we were meant to be away for.

"We have a lot planned to look forward to as well. He phoned a lady as well the night before he went missing to arrange a job.

“You don’t do that if you know you’re going to go missing.”

Bertha agreed, saying: “He’s a faithful man, looks after his wife and his family, goes to his work, doesn’t like missing his work – his workmates think he’s a great guy.

“He goes down that street, all the folk down there think he’s a great guy. They see him every day walking his dogs.

“He hasn’t gone out to harm himself, that’s one thing. There’s no way he’d do a thing like that.”

Alison made one final, simple appeal, this time direct to Andrew.

"If you can see this, let us know where you are," she said.

“I just want to tell him to phone, even leave a message on someone’s machine if he doesn’t want contacted.

"Just let us know you’re safe.”

Anyone with any information which may be of assistance can pass this on to Police Scotland by calling 101, quoting reference number 0514 of Wednesday, February 22, 2023.