The walker went missing on Lochnagar. Photo: Jim Barton CC-BY-SA-2.0

Teams searching for a missing walker in the Cairngorms have found a body.

Police Scotland said the discovery was made on Lochnagar about noon on Sunday.

More than 80 people were involved in the operation to find the 65-year-old, who was reported missing on Friday evening.

Police said they believed the body was that of the missing man.

Braemar and Aberdeen Mountain Rescue Teams were joined in the search by members of the RAF Mountain Rescue Service and Tayside Mountain Rescue Team along with a rescue helicopter and animals and handlers from the Search and Rescue Dogs Association.

Inspector Darren Bruce of the south Aberdeenshire command area said: “Trained mountain rescue teams have worked tirelessly and in extremely difficult conditions this weekend.

“It is sad to learn that someone has succumbed to the elements. Our thoughts are with family and friends at this time.”

A walker remains missing on Ben Nevis, a week after he is thought to have fallen from the summit when a cornice collapsed.

Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team members have concentrated their efforts in Observatory Gully on the North Face of the mountain.

A spokesperson said conditions were ‘wild to say the least, where it was hard enough to stand up never mind search avalanches’.

“We carried out a probe search of the lower end of all avalanche debris in Observatory Gully. We had Recco and Meagaidh, the team SARDA dog searching, unfortunately without any success.

“Storm-force wind with driving sleet and hailstones which felt like tracers when facing into wind. Tom and Meagaidh searched up Observatory Gully and behind the probe team in case any scent was released during probing.”

The Inverness Coastguard helicopter has also been helping in the search operation on Britain’s highest mountain. Volunteers from the Lochaber team have been out on the hill almost every day during the past week.

The spokesperson said: “We have put in just under 500 hours in some very extreme weather conditions. In some places where we were probing there is probably anything between 10m and 15m of build-up following successive avalanches and blocks of ice from cornices the size of fridges in the debris.”

Two missing walkers were found mildly hypothermic but otherwise unharmed on a mountain north of Blair Atholl on Saturday.

The men, aged 42 and 48, were discovered near Beinn Dearg by the Inverness Coastguard helicopter about 1.30pm after a 17-hour search.

Officers from Police Scotland, Tayside Mountain Rescue Team, Blair Atholl Community Resilience Group and local residents and gamekeepers took part in the operation to find the missing men.

At the height of the operation 30 mountain rescuers and the search and rescue helicopter were involved in searching an area of hills stretching to about 350sq km. Weather conditions were challenging with high winds and reduced visibility in darkness, snow and rain.

Sergeant Alan Pettigrew of Police Scotland (Tayside) Mountain Rescue Team said: “I am delighted that this expansive operation ended in such a successful outcome.

“This incident reaffirms that our Scottish mountains and uplands demand to be treated with respect, particularly during the winter months.

“Our conditions are potentially deadly and it is imperative that those taking their recreation in the hills follow the basic advice that is continually repeated: be properly equipped in terms of your skills and kit; carry a map and compass and know how to use them; don’t overestimate your abilities and, above all, leave a note of your intended route and anticipated return with a responsible person.

“This incident was particularly challenging from a search management perspective due to the lack of information available to us. I would like to express my gratitude to the volunteers of Tayside Mountain Rescue Team and Blair Atholl Community Resilience Group for the time and effort they contributed to this successful outcome.”