An elderly man who lives off the grid in a remote forest in the Scottish Highlands was rescued after falling ill, and his distress signal was picked up thousands of kilometres away, across the ocean in Texas.

The families of a former Calgary climber and her hiking partner are thanking the "brave and generous" rescue teams who worked to find their children and bring some closure.

Scotland police are continuing to search the United Kingdom's highest mountain for a couple who went missing on a hike over a week ago.