Methven teacher Jennifer Thomson’s body found

Apr 8 2011 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

FOUR years after going missing on a solo hillwalking trip to the west coast, the remains of retired Perthshire teacher Jennifer Thomson have been discovered.

A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police confirmed that family members have been alerted to a positive identification in the wake of a post-mortem.

The remains were found by walkers at remote Troustan on the shore of Loch Striven, 22 miles from Dunoon, on March 25, sparking a police investigation.

Officers suspected it could be the body of Jennifer, who was 63 when she went missing on March 17, 2007.

The Methven mother-of-two had gone hillwalking alone in the area and the alarm was raised when she failed to return to her accommodation with the weather deteriorating.

That triggered an extensive search of rough terrain on and around Beinn Bhreac by police divers, mountain rescue personnel and volunteers.

A keen member of Perth Hillwalking Club, many members joined the search for divorcee Jennifer, who had taught chemistry at various secondary schools in Perth and Kinross during her career.

They returned to the area often in the weeks following her disappearance.

A native of Schiehallion, Jennifer studied at Glasgow University and gained a first-class honours in agricultural chemistry.

With daughters Katy and Fiona grown-up, she began Munro bagging and climbed them all within four years.

Friends say she then became only the 20th Scottish woman to complete the set of Corbetts in 1999.

She later turned her attention to Marilyns, hills with a drop of more than 150 metres on all sides.

Jennifer entered the ‘Marilyn Hall of Fame’ and attended annual baggers’ gatherings.

In 2006 she was injured walking at Muldoanich but the lure of Scotland’s hills was irresistible.

A memorial walk was held for Jennifer on Coraddie in Cowal and her life was celebrated at a service held at Fowlis Wester Church, near Crieff, in November, 2007.