The heartbroken mother of a missing teenager in the Western Isles has welcomed plans to conduct a new search for her son.
Aleksandr Benga vanished two months ago and his mum, Viktoria, says she will never
stop looking for the 16-year-old who was last seen during wintry weather in the Lews
Castle Grounds in Stornoway.
Despite a major operation involving police officers, Stornoway lifeboat, a coastguard helicopter and a police chopper, there has been no sign of the youth since 18 November.
Local fire personnel, coastguards and mountain rescue team set off on foot through rough undulating terrain, boggy moor and thick undergrowth.
Specialist police search personnel, divers, and volunteer rescue teams were also drafted in from the mainland to assist.
Police Scotland said physical searches on the ground have concluded and Aleksandr remains a missing person with officers continuing to review all available information and acting on any new details which are passed to them. The police force urges people to bring any information to their attention by calling 101.
► Specialist dog team to conduct new search for missing Stornoway teenager this weekend
Viktoria gives her blessing to supporters who have launched a fundraising appeal
to bring a tracking dogs team - Specialist Search Dogs - to Lewis.
“I want to search for him until I find him.
“We found this specialist search team on the mainland. They have great results. They have agreed to come and help us search for Aleksandr.”
She added: “It's like he vanished into thin air. We don't have sightings, video records, or any dash cam records, from the point where he was last seen at the waterwheel” in the grounds surrounding the Lews Castle.
“When the most precious person in your life goes missing its like part of you goes missing with him.”
The knowledge that she is not alone and so many people are thinking and praying for her and Aleksandr gives her the “strength to keep going and keep on searching.”
“I am glad that I have my sister here. I have lots of friends and all the community in general are so nice.
“I have so many kind messages and people trying to help. They still looking for Alexander.
“All my friends are local, and I'm very happy to be working for the kind and generous
Smith family at W J Macdonald butchers. My co-workers are very supportive and understanding
people.”
“I am enormously grateful for all the community and to the people who still have hope and still believe that he's somewhere out there.”
“I am so grateful to the local community that they took us in as a family. It means the world to me. I consider myself very lucky to be accepted in this community so well,” said Viktoria.
Viktoria say the family keep in touch with inspector Euan Cowan based at Stornoway Police Station.
“I'm really thankful for them. Police are still doing the job, they're responding to information from local people like a phone call about some car left on the moor or a light in a caravan they will go and check it”
“I am thankful to the police, especially for the enormous hours they did in the first few days (of the search), they were working overtime searching for Aleksandr.
Aleksandr considers himself an islander after moving from Latvia to Scotland with Viktorija in 2011 when he was nearly five years old after his dad died of cancer.
He loves Lewis where his aunt and cousin also live, its open scenic landscapes and the ocean. This is his childhood home, attending the Stornoway Primary School and the Nicolson Institute.
Aleksandr grew up here and “knows no other life” and wants to study history in Edinburgh after leaving school.
The “kind and highly intelligent” teenager grew his hair long to donate it to make wigs for children with hair loss from cancer treatment.
He has a “kind and loving heart and is very caring,” said his mum.
Surfing off Lewis beaches with his aunty is one of his favourite activities, another is exploring the Lews Castle Grounds where he liked being “close to nature and to the Creed River with the sound of the water.”
“Alexander is a vulnerable young person. He was suffering with his mental health, and he’s on the autistic spectrum.
“If he was overwhelmed with emotions, he would go to the castle grounds for a walk. We used to go with him for long walks. We could walk for hours around the castle grounds and he felt very safe there. He's felt very calm.”
► Specialist dog team to conduct new search for missing Stornoway teenager this weekend
One big attraction for Aleksandr is Gallows Hill because of its spectacular view over the town of Stornoway and beyond to the horizon. A nearby raven’s nest captivated his interest as he loves birdwatching and wildlife added Viktoria.
Viktoria hopes this weekend’s search will provide the answers she so desperately seeks.
She thanked local businesses and the public for donating to the fundraising effort to “help us keep looking for Aleksandr.”
“I want to say to Aleksandr how much I miss him . I miss being around him, listening to music together. I miss you so much and I love you so much and I want you back.
“If you’re scared of something, don’t be. You don’t have to be scared, just come home. Please come home, I love you so much.”
Mother speaks of her heartache as son remains missing
21 January 2025
Viktoria Benga and Aleksandr
