Tributes have been paid to a ‘lovely’ and ‘sociable’ Manx woman who sadly died during a walk round a Scottish estuary.

Shona Campbell, 74, was originally from Scotland but moved to the Isle of Man more than 30 years ago.

She disappeared while out walking near to Moss-Side Caravan Park at Cummertrees, in Annan where she was staying. She was walking by the Solway Estuary at around 5pm on Monday when she got into difficulty in the mud.

She is believed to have called the emergency services for assistance but no trace of her could be found.

Extensive searches were carried out using local and national specialist police resources, while the coastguard, Scottish Fire and Rescue service and the Scottish Ambulance Service also helped with the search.

Sadly, at around 5.40pm on Tuesday, the body of a woman was discovered in the Solway Estuary.

Police Scotland have since formally identified the body as that of Shona and her family have been informed.

James Osborne was good friends with Shona, and she even attended his wedding last year.

He said: ‘I met Shona a long time ago when we both bought a springer spaniel from the same litter. Whenever I went away, Shona would look after our dog.

‘She was such a friendly, honest and genuine person, so predictably lovely.

‘Shona loved blues music, particularly Joe Bonnamassa, and regularly attended the Big Wheel Blues Club at the Railway Inn in Douglas.

‘She often came and walked my dog; she would go for miles. My dog often came back knackered! She was an experienced walker, so it bemuses me over what happened.

‘Shona also picked sloe berries and was known for making her sloe gin.

‘During our last conversation about a month ago, she did talk about returning to Scotland.

‘I will really miss the camaraderie we had and the interests we shared. She even came on holiday with us a couple of times. I will really miss our genuine friendship.’

Shona worked as a personal assistant (PA) and moved to the island in the 1990s where she worked in banking but then she went to Duke Video and became the PA to CEO Peter Duke.,

He said: ‘Shona was my PA for 17 years before she retired in 2014. It has been such a great shock to hear the news.

‘Shona was a very experienced and accomplished PA who had been a professional secretary all her working life.

‘She was a big TT fan and was involved in helping organise our events, particularly the centenary in 2007. She was such a sociable person and had many friends and connections to the TT.

‘Shona was a people person without a doubt and she was always prepared to turn her hand to anything whatever direction we went in.

‘We had a close relationship as my PA and when she retired, she wanted to travel and has enjoyed doing that over the last ten years.

‘She was very active and loved walking. I saw her earlier this year and she was in great spirits and in good shape.

‘Shona was a very popular colleague and will be sadly missed by everyone at Duke Video.’

Police Scotland say Shona’s death is being treated as unexplained, but it is not believed to be suspicious, and a report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal which acts as the coroner in Scotland.