Was in a bad way. I don’t it was safe to leave him
HIS GIRLFRIEND’S GRIEF Scott was the kindest person, to me, to everyone. It doesn’t feel like he’s gone, that he’s not here. It feels like he’ll come through the door any minute
– Eyewitness Fraser Arnot
The girlfriend of student Scott Calder paid tribute to him yesterday as she spoke of her terrible loss. Madison Watson, 22, and Scott, 23, had been inseparable since they started dating three years ago and had planned to go travelling next year.
She said: “Scott was the kindest, most caring person. “He was a complete gentleman, not just to me but to everyone.
“When he was at university he would be the first person to go and speak to people who didn’t know anyone.
“He would put other people before himself all the time.” Madison added: “In some ways I don’t think I have accepted that this is real.
“It doesn’t feel like he’s gone, that he’s not here any more.
“I still think he’s going to come back through the door any minute.”
The pair, who met while both working in Nando’s, had planned to go travelling next year after Scott finished his masters at Napier University this summer.
Yesterday, Madison spoke of her heartbreak after her boyfriend’s body was discovered on Longniddry Bents on October 14 after police, who had been warned he was at risk, allowed him to wander off alone.
A professional dancer, she spoke out to appeal for witnesses to come forward who may have seen Scott on the night he died. Madison said the pair had been looking forward to the future, and had booked a trip abroad just weeks before the tragedy.
She said: “We had been planning to go travelling in Asia in January. We booked it about two weeks before all of this happened.
“We wanted to travel together and it was a good time, as I wasn’t on any dancing contracts and he had finished his degree Post returned to the bus stop in Port Seton where police say they dropped Scott exactly three weeks previously.
The surrounding streets were virtually empty, with only a few people heading home from nights out. A Co-op nearby closed at 10pm, and the petrol station opposite the bus stop was also closed.
Workers at Carlo’s fish bar and restaurant remembered the night of Oktoberfest as a group of revellers had come in dressed in lederhosen at around 10.45pm.
But none had seen Scott as the chip shop closes at 11pm and most of the staff travel home by car.
DCI Stuart Reid said: “An investigation is ongoing by the Crown to establish the full circumstances so was free from his studying. He had been working on his masters all summer and hadn’t really had a break.
“He had been working so hard, and while all his friends were going out he had been going to the library and studying.
“The Oktoberfest thing was the first time in ages he was out, as he had just finished his degree and it was going to be a fun event. He was really looking forward to it.” Madison explained that on the night of the event at Gosford House, she had been working and hadn’t been able to get hold of Scott.
She had contacted his friends who said he wasn’t with them after the event and immediately felt that something was wrong.
She said: “I just felt as though there was something going on, something wasn’t right.
“It couldn’t’ sleep all night, and I started phoning the police and hospitals and things around 4am asking if Scott was there. I went to work the next day but got sent home, and that’s when my mum told me that a body had been found.
“I couldn’t believe it, that this was really happening.
“I didn’t understand it and I still don’t.
“I just want to help get the answers we all need.” which Police Scotland are supporting and the death remains unexplained.
“Our thoughts are with Scott’s family. We will continue to provide support to the Calder family while the investigation is ongoing. “Arrangements will be made to fully update the family with the outcome and hopefully provide the answers they are seeking.”
Police Scotland reported Scott’s death and the events surrounding it to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner, the police conduct watchdog. Their team “assessed” the report but did not investigate it before deciding the officers involved had acted appropriately.