The brother of Liam Colgan has reportedly said a body pulled from a river in Hamburg is not his missing sibling.
The 29-year-old from Inverness was on his brother Eamonn’s stag weekend in Hamburg when he disappeared in the early hours of February 10.
Reports in the German media said a body has been pulled from the city’s River Elbe, stating that both Liam and a sailor had gone missing in the city recently.
Eamonn Colgan is reported to have told The Sun: “The police have contacted me and told me the body recovered from the river this morning is not Liam.
“I can’t obviously say who they think it is and they have no reason to tell me but the description does not match Liam. We are putting a plan together about what areas we need to target next.
“Until we hear anything otherwise we can’t give up the search and we have to remain optimistic.”
A statement released through the Lucie Blackman Trust on behalf of Mr Colgan’s family said: “We are aware of rumours circulating about discovery of a body in Hamburg.
“At this point there is nothing to suggest this has any connection to Liam Colgan. Therefore please continue to share and support the appeal.”
Police have launched a search, while Mr Colgan’s friends have set up a Facebook page and a Twitter account to appeal for information.
Meanwhile, a worker at a bakery outside Hamburg has spoken about an alleged sighting of Mr Colgan.
Bettina Diwinski told the Sunday Mail newspaper a colleague was “certain” Mr Colgan visited Dietz bakers in Buxtehude on Wednesday – four days after he vanished.
Ms Diwinski told the newspaper: “We saw a photograph of the man in the newspapers and we realised he had been here.
“One of my colleagues is certain she saw him.
“He looked lost and confused and then he left the shop. He looked lonely.”
Her comments follow reports of other alleged sightings of Mr Colgan in Buxtehude, a town which lies around 15 miles south of Hamburg.
Eamonn Colgan raised the alarm on February 10 when he woke up and discovered his brother was not in the room they were sharing.
He had not been seen since he left the Veermaster bar in the Reeperbahn district of Hamburg at about 1.30am.