The father of an American tourist who died in an apparent fall while bagging Munros near Tyndrum has paid tribute to his “warm and compassionate” son.
Patrick Monroe was reported missing after he set off from Tyndrum Holiday Park – formerly Pine Trees Caravan Park – on the morning of Thursday, April 6, and was not seen again.
A week later, police and mountain rescue teams who had been conducting the frantic search to find Patrick, discovered his body in the Tyndrum area.
Patrick’s heartbroken dad, Mark, this week told the Observer how Patrick had travelled to Scotland from Kansas City back in March to fulfil a life-long dream of scaling all 282 of Scotland’s Munros.
Paying tribute to his son, Mark said: “Patrick was warm, compassionate and lived true to his soul. He disliked the divisiveness of the world today and avoided confrontation driven by politics.
“Patrick would escape the turmoil of the day by playing chess or board games, reading, listening to his vinyl records or streaming music to play tailored to his present company.
“Any chance he could would have him taking long walks anywhere and everywhere. At the dinner table he would put the phone away to enjoy the pure quality time with those he was with. He truly loved the time spent with his family and friends.
“Simply put, he promoted peace, love, and respect and lived this by example.”
Patrick was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and shared a love for the outdoors. He went on his first family camping trip at just two-years-old.
He later went on to join the Boy Scouts of America as a Cub Scout, where his appreciation for the outdoors grew.
In 1998, the family relocated to the Overland Park, Kansas, where he also joined the local Boy Scouts group.
Of Scottish ancestry, Patrick had always kept a keen interest in learning about his heritage and always dreamed of visiting Scotland.
The family can trace its roots back to Clan Munro and the small village of Evanton in Easter Ross in the Highlands. Mark added: “Studying the clan through books and online sources, he set a goal to travel to Scotland and visit Foulis Castle.”
It was there that Patrick learned the mountain peaks over 3000-feet in elevation were named after Sir Hugh Munro who first mapped these peaks.
In 2016, Patrick joined his parents on a two-week-long holiday to the UK which was mostly spent in Scotland – including three days at Foulis Castle, Evanton.
On the drive to Inverness, he took a random moment and climbed a hill with Mark. A few days later, they hiked up to see the Fyrish Monument, just outside Evanton. Those two excursions firmly set his desire to come back someday to bag the Munros.
Patrick gained more hiking experience by scaling summits in California, the Rocky Mountains – between Colorado and Montana, Utah – and last took on Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.
During his bid to bag the Munros, Patrick was sending GPS co-ordinates to his father by satellite with his Garmin handheld unit when he reached each Munro peak so his family could map out his trek.
It was only when the signals stopped coming that his family became increasingly concerned and were actively searching for a source to report their concerns.
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They were then informed that Police Scotland had launched a search for him after being reported missing by a neighbouring camper.
Mark added: “We as a family are thankful to this camper and would like to publicly thank them since we don’t know who the person is.”
Patrick worked in the film and entertainment industry, taking on many roles behind the scenes on productions, including directing, producing, editing, sound, grip and lighting – setting up his own company. He went on to work on a number of films, TV series, and adverts.
Patrick was never married and had no children but was very close to his beloved nephews, Taven and Hunter.
Mark this week offered his sincere thanks to Police Scotland’s Forth Valley Division, as well as mountain rescue teams who were drafted in as part of the search – including Killin MRT and Lomond MRT.
“As a family, we cannot express our gratitude enough for the tireless efforts put forth by the Police Scotland, Forth Valley Division Inspector Phil McIntosh, Inspector David Ryan, and PS Ashley Kelly,” Mark said.
“Also, we wish to thank all of the search volunteers of the Oban Mountain Rescue Team lead by Gordon Binnie and their colleagues in Killin MRT along with other teams involved.”
An online fundraiser has also been set up to help Patrick’s heartbroken family take him home.
The Go Fund Me page, called ‘Help bring Patrick Alan Monroe home’ hope to raise enough funds so that the family can take him home to be laid to rest.
At the time of print, more than $35,000 – more than £28,000 – has been raised. To donate, go to click here.
