Body is found in hunt for missing chemistry student
THE family of a university student missing for more than two months have been informed of the discovery of a body.
Police were called to West Sands beach, St Andrews, after human remains were found.
Duncan Sim, 19, went missing on March 14 after leaving Madras Rugby Club in the Fife town.
It is understood his relatives have been told of the discovery, but formal identification has not yet taken place.
A police spokesman said: ‘On Sunday officers attended West Sands, St Andrews, after the discovery of what is believed to be human remains within the water.
‘Inquiries remain ongoing at this time.’
Mr Sim, who was from Duns in Berwickshire, was reported missing by concerned friends after he failed to return to his student accommodation.
The first year chemistry student left the rugby club at around 11.15pm and may have been on his way to the St Andrews’ Student Union on the town’s Market Street, but it is not clear if he ever arrived.
Following his disappearance hundreds of volunteers helped to search the shoreline and streets in an effort to find Mr Sim. Members of Duns Rugby Club also travelled to St Andrews to assist.
A Coastguard helicopter was involved in the search along with specialist police search dogs.
A Facebook page appealing for information was also set up as efforts to trace him continued.
Mr Sim’s friends described his disappearance as ‘completely out of character’ and his parents, Sheila and Gordon Sim stayed in the town while the search went on.
At the end of March, Police Scotland released CCTV footage that showed Mr Sim was in the St Andrews Links area between 11.24pm and 11.33pm on the night he disappeared.
He was seen outside Pilmour House, near the Eden golf course, in a grey jacket, white shirt, blue and white striped tie and brown shoes.
A witness had also described seeing a man who roughly matched the student’s description, standing in the sea in the nearby Kinkell Braes area.
It was also feared Mr Sim may have dropped into a recently excavated trench near to a St Andrews golf course and fallen unconscious on the night he vanished.
Last month, Police Scotland said Mr Sim’s family were ‘realistic’ about the possibility of him being found alive.
But at the time, Chief Inspector Steven Hamilton said: ‘I know it’s not particularly pleasant to be talking about, but there’s a possibility that Duncan could have ended up in the sea.
‘We’ve had assistance from oceanographers, to consider all possibilities for what’s happened to Duncan.’
Earlier this month, Police Scotland revealed that detectives are hunting for more than 750 people who they classed as ‘longterm’ missing. These cases, which involve individuals who have been missing for more than 28 days, dated back more than 60 years.
Police Scotland have received 22,968 missing person reports in the last year – a 6 per cent rise on the previous year. Of those reports, 96 of the people concerned were found dead.