Grisly riddle of body that lay undiscovered in a tent ‘for months’
POLICE have launched an investigation after human remains were found inside a tent after several months or more.
The grim discovery was made by officers on Sunday evening in a disused quarry in Inverness.
Police Scotland said the death was being treated as ‘unexplained’. In a statement, officers said they were told a tent had been found in a secluded area of Torvean quarry in the city.
‘Within the tent police discovered human remains which appear to have been there for several months or longer. The identity, age and sex of the deceased person are unknown,’ said a force spokesman.
‘It is not known how the person died. A post mortem will be held and the death is being treated as unexplained.
‘The tent was in a secluded area of the quarry and was a distance away from paths used by the public. It appears that the person had been living in this tent for a period of time and it is likely he or she would have been seen by people nearby.’
Police have now appealed for help to identify the body. The remains found were skeletal with clothes on and no other clues as to identity – no paperwork, credit cards or receipts.
The post-mortem examination will determine gender and approximate age, and gather information about clothing which may help solve the mystery.
The area, although less than half a mile from the city boundary, is relatively sheltered and visited infrequently.
Police are appealing for anyone who may have seen the tent or anyone occupying it to call Inverness Police on 101 or alternatively Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
Meanwhile online, social media users expressed their shock. Lorraine Anne Tippett said: ‘What a shame for this person and for those who came across this. So sad.’
Cath Hill-Freeman added: ‘Oh how terrible. Sympathy to family when identified and very much so to police and personnel who had to deal with this.’
And Fiona MacKinnon wrote: ‘So
‘Not known how the person died’
sad that someone hasn’t been missed.’
It is not the first disturbing find of this kind in the Highlands.
In 1999, the naked body of 48year-old Australian Verity Linn was found near Loch Cam in Sutherland, 100 yards away from her tent. She had been trying to convert to ‘Breathanarianism’, a cult which claims it is possible to live on fresh air alone, instead of food.
A diary belonging to her suggested she had been fasting to fulfill the rules of a ritual normally practised by Tibetan monks.
Followers of the cult believe that the energy they save on digesting food and drink can be transformed into physical, emotional and spiritual power. Her naked body was found by a fisherman.
In 2008, the decomposed remains of a body found in a tent in Auch Forest, near Bridge of Orchy in Argyll, were finally identified as those of a man who went missing three years earlier.
Nicholas Randall was 31 years old when he was last seen at his Edinburgh home in April 2005.
The keen hill walker’s car was later discovered in a Fort William car park. Despite an extensive search, his whereabouts remained a mystery.
Police at the time confirmed that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Randall, who had suffered from depression.