Police believe the body of a man found on an uninhabited Orkney island is almost certainly that of a young local man who was lost at sea.
Police say they are as certain as they can be at this stage that it is 23-year-old Alex Moar from Stromness.
He was lost when his boat overturned between Stromness and Hoy last month.
Police say they are awaiting the results of DNA tests. The human remains were discovered on the uninhabited island of Calf of Flotta.
Sailors on a passing dive boat spotted the body on Wednesday night and it was recovered by the Stromness Lifeboat.
Mr Moar went missing when his boat capsized in Hoy Sound on 16 June and police say there are no other people known to be missing in the area.
Distress flare
His family have been informed of the discovery.
A Northern Constabulary spokesman said: "Mr Moar went missing in that area and there is nobody else missing at sea in that area so that is an obvious line of inquiry we are looking at in terms of identification.
"The Sound of Hoy is in the same area as the island on which the remains were found.
"Police enquiries regarding identification are ongoing."
Mr Moar left Stromness on 15 June and is believed to have been travelling to Hoy.
A land, sea and air search began after a member of the public spotted a distress flare and his overturned boat was found an hour later.
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