The Civil Defence and the Search and Rescue Dog Association were called out to help police find a missing person in the south of the island on Monday night.

A statement from the latter organisation said: ‘At 5.58pm on Monday, March 31, SARDA IoM was called out to assist in locating a missing person in the south of the island.

‘Our dog teams and navigators responded swiftly, working alongside the Isle of Man Constabulary to carry out the search.

‘Dog handlers Ben Scott with air scenting dog Steve and Olivia Crowe with air scenting dog Mop arrived first at the rendezvous point (RV), joined by navigators Gary Wright, Becky Scott, Mal Stewart, and James Leonard.

‘Shortly after, dog handler Jim McGregor with trailing dog Ruby set off towards the scene, accompanied by navigators Marc Marshall, Will Heap, and Helen Rossington.

‘Following a police briefing, Mal Stewart remained at the RV to manage search system technology, ensuring the team had real-time tracking support. Meanwhile, both air scenting dog teams deployed into the area of interest, searching alongside their navigators.

‘At approximately 7.29pm, search dog Mop, along with handler Olivia Crowe and navigators Gary Wright and James Leonard, successfully located the missing person.

‘The individual was safely escorted back to the RV and reunited with their family.’

SARDA Isle of Man was founded in 2004 by Matt Creer and Jim MacGregor and its volunteer handlers and their dogs are on call 24/7. It is part of the wider National Search and Rescue Dog Association.

Civil Defence confirmed 17 members of its team were deployed to assist, but were stood down while en route to the area after SARDA found the person.