Searches halted for missing Donegal kayaker

Searches for a Donegal man who went missing while kayaking last Thursday evening have been temporarily stood down.

Adverse weather conditions off the west Donegal coast have brought a halt to searches for Paul Buchanan.

Mr Buchanan, aged in his 50s and from Ramelton, was last seen at around 7pm last Thursday, October 3, having set off from Magheragallon Pier in a kayak.

A major search was launched in the aftermath of the alarm being raised.

The Garda-led search, which moved to a body recovery operation earlier in this week, has been stood down.

Adverse weather conditions in the area where the search was concentrated have resulted in the search being halted for a time.

“Searches will resume later in the week,” a Garda spokesperson told Donegal Live.

The search was ongoing at both sea and along the coastline.

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The Irish Coast Guard, along with local coast guard teams and community volunteers, are assisting in the effort to recover Mr Buchanan. 

A special Rosary was held in St Mary’s Church in Ramelton on Tuesday evening.

Fr Michael Carney, the parish priest, will led parishioners in the Rosary, praying for Mr Buchanan and his family. On Saturday morning, Fr Carney held a special Mass praying that Mr Buchanan would be found. 

Mr Buchanan, a married father-of-two who has a chartered accountancy business in Letterkenny, initially left Magheragallon pier at around 5pm on Thursday, but failed to return.

He was spotted a couple of hours later between the coast and Inis Meain island. This was the last sighting and on Friday evening, a kayak was found around 5km north of Tory island.

The search encompassed boat, drone and shore operations with crews from the Bunbeg Coast Guard, Arranmore lifeboat and Lough Swilly lifeboat involved in the search. The 118 and 116 rescue helicopters and a chopper from the Irish Air Corps were also aiding.

Additional assistance from the UK Coast Guard in Scotland was drafted in over the weekend, but subsequently stood down.

A vast area around Gola, Owey and Inishfree islands as far as Bloody Foreland has been scoured by various agencies and volunteers.