The scene of the search on Stybarrow Dodd, looking north towards Great Dodd. Photo: Martyn B CC-BY-SA-2.0

A major search involving five mountain rescue team took place after a walker was reported missing.

Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team mounted a search after the man told the owners of a Penrith guesthouse, where he was staying, he was going for a walk on the Dodds on Wednesday.

The man was not found and the search was called off overnight as high winds and torrential rain hit the Lake District.

It resumed again the following day, with members of the Keswick, Kendal, Kirkby Stephen and Penrith Mountain Rescue Teams, joining their Patterdale colleagues. Seven search dogs and handlers and a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter from HMS Gannet in Ayrshire also joined the operation.

A spokesperson for Cumbria Constabulary said: “The search was initiated by Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team after a man who was staying in a guesthouse in Penrith told owners he was going for a walk on the Dodds on Tuesday 4 January but failed to return.

“With concern for his welfare, the MRT contacted mountain rescue colleagues from other areas and the Air Rescue Coordination Centre at Kinloss for air support.

“The man had not been reported missing to police and officers were notified of the search after it was mounted on Wednesday 4 January.”

The spokesperson said once police were made aware, officers began making local enquiries to try and establish the man’s identity and potential movements.

“A thorough search of the area was conducted by the mountain rescue teams on Thursday with a negative result so police are continuing their enquiries today in a bid to establish whether he is missing or simply left the area,” the spokesperson added.

A spokesperson for the Kendal team said Wednesday’s search, on the Dodds north of Sticks Pass on the Helvellyn range, were carried out in extreme weather conditions. “There was a lot of water about following prolonged wet weather and it was an extremely windy day searching on the hills, with gusts of up to 80mph recorded in the search area,” the spokesperson added.

A full search involving more than 60 volunteers from the five teams was carried out yesterday in clear visibility, but the walker was not found.

Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team leader Martin Cotterell said: “We hope the man is safe and well, but it would be good to know.”