Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Police in bid to identify remains
POLICE investigating the discovery of human remains in Glenrothes have released a facial reconstruction in a bid to identify the man.
Experts from John Muir University in Liverpool have compiled a representation of the man’s face, which has now been released to the public.
Officers say the man was at least 35, had lost several teeth and had a surgical plate fitted on his left ankle.
A major investigation was launched following the grim find at disused units in Whitehills Industrial Estate on September 27.
Officers believe the body had been there for at least two years.
Detective Chief Inspector Kevin Houliston, of Police Scotland’s major investigations unit, urged anyone who recognised him to come forward.
“This man clearly had family,” he said. “He may have been a father, a brother, he may have been an uncle.
“My appeal is for any information that would assist us in establishing who this man is and how he came to be in Whitehill Industrial Estate.”
Police have been working with a number of forensics experts, including those at the Liverpoolbased Face Lab.
“There are a number of distinctive features that we have been able to establish about the man,” said DCI Houliston.
“We know that he was at least 35 years of age but may have been significantly older.
“He was about 5ft 8in to 5ft 9in, he was of slight build and had lost a number of teeth during his life.
“We also know he had also sustained a fracture to his left ankle at some point and had a surgical plate fitted.”
The plate’s batch number indicates it may have been fitted in a hospital in Fife, Sheffield or Ashford in Kent in December 1998.
DCI Houliston said he hoped someone would look at the image and recognise him or the information given.
“I want to unite him with his family and find out what happened to him,” he said.
A post-mortem examination on the remains did not establish a cause of death and further forensic work is ongoing.
Families of long-term missing people, including those of Glenrothes men Allan Bryant and Kenneth Jones, were contacted and faced an agonising wait for news.
It was later established the remains were not those of either of the two men.
Police also consulted the missing persons’ database, to no avail.