US cops search for Brit tourist who vanished while swimming off California beach
The Scotsman, who is in his 50s, was visiting the US with his 17-year-old son
COPS in California are searching for a Scot who vanished on holiday while facing serious criminal charges back home.
Kim Gordon was reported missing by his 17-year-old son who said he’d gone for a swim at a beach notorious for its dangerous waters.
US detectives revealed the teen said he was hiking while his father went in.
Police divers were drafted in to scour the sea off Monastery Beach in Carmel for Gordon — a well-known street trader in Inverness, Scotland.
But they were unable to find any trace despite searching for several days.
Sergeant Michael Darlington of Monterey County Sheriff’s Department said: “This beach is notorious for injuries and fatalities.
“It’s right off the highway, so as a tourist drives by they see a nice, sandy beach.
“They come out here and they don’t realise that it’s a very steep beach. It gets very deep very quickly.”
'NOTORIOUS BEACH WATERS'
Department Commander John Thornburg added: “We got a 911 call saying there was a swimmer who had gone out on our beaches on Monday evening.
“He hadn’t come back. His son said he was in distress and needed help.
“We launched search operations and went for two days to try to locate him.
“We’ve dedicated a fair amount of resources to trying to find him.”
A US news report showed Gordon’s Highland Council street trader licence for selling jewellery in Inverness.
He and his son are understood to have started their California trip in Los Angeles.
Commander Thornburg said: “The 17-year-old had told officers that they had come into LAX. But it is unclear how they then ended up in Monterey County.
“The US Marshals service is becoming involved and they are going to help us, or take over looking for this individual. They are very good at it.”
Reports claim Gordon’s son was taken in by child protection after raising the alarm on Monday night.
It is understood he has since returned to Scotland while Gordon remains unaccounted for in the US.
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A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “Our staff are assisting the family of a British man who is missing in the United States and are in touch with the local authorities.”
Gordon is due to appear at the High Court in Edinburgh later this month.
A Crown spokesman said: “There are active solemn proceedings for Kim Vincent aka Kem Vincent Avis.”
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