Forest body postmortem 'may bring answers'

People walking within the Devilla Forrest, near Kincardine reported the find at around midday on Sunday, September 3 and an extensive investigation has been underway since this time.

The remains were forensically recovered on Monday and are due to undergo post mortem examination today. However, initial inquiries suggest they belong to a male.

A public appeal was launched to establish who this individual may be and so far 11 people have come forward to provide information, which continues to be progressed by the inquiry team.

Officers are again asking people who may not have seen or heard from a family member, friend or neighbour over the past few weeks or month to get in touch.

A number of items of outdoor clothing, including a blue short sleeved “Kalenji” t-shirt, grey trousers with black patches on the knees and black “Quechua” walking shoes were found with the remains, as was a black and red rucksack and a pair of glasses.

Detective Chief Inspector Scott Cunningham from Fife CID said: “My number one priority continues to be identifying this person and providing any family or friends with answers as to the cause of their death.

“I’m really grateful for the response so far, but I cannot rule out that this person was not local to the Fife area, and so I would ask members of the public across the country to have a think about anyone they know of who has clothing like the items found in the Devilla Forrest and who hasn’t been seen in a while.

“The death continues to be treated as unexplained at this time and we hope to have more answers following the post mortem, but if anyone out there has any information they believe is of relevance to our ongoing inquiries then please contact police immediately.”

Those with information can contact Police Scotland via 101.