It still makes no sense: Anguish over golf course death mystery
● Returns to scene where remains were found 5 years after sister disappeared
Thebrother of a womanwhose remains were found near a golf course has returned to the scene on the fifth anniversary of his sister’s disappearance to make an emotional appeal for information.
Skull and bone fragments of 36- year- old librarian Saima Ahmed were discovered on land close to Gogarburn Golf Club, near Edinburgh Airport, on 9 January 2016.
The find was made four months after she was reported missing from her home in Wembley, North London.
Ms Ahned is believed to have travelled to Edinburgh by train on 30 August 2015 but her family still do not know why she would make the journey to a city with which she had “no known links”.
Sadat Ahmed, 37, said: “From day one till now, no more progress, no more answers. Time hasn’t helped, ever y time we try to go through it in our heads it still doesn’t make any more sense. It’s so out of character for her to come here to Edinburgh on her own.”
He described his sister as an inquisitive person who would have spoken to people while in Edinburgh. He believes someone in the city has information about why his sister was there.
Mr Ahmed said: “She was very inquisitive, so she would have asked questions when she was in a city she had never been to, she must have spoken to someone. She was in Edinburgh, so to the people of Edinburgh I say please come forward to help me and my family get some answers.”
He added: “This area is not somewhere you would typically walk on your own, so she must have been in contact with people. Somebody must have interacted with her.”
A train ticket found with Ms Ahmed’s remains led detectives to believe she travelled to the city on 30 August, and officers think she may have arrived at around 10: 15pm.
A dog walker reported a woman matching her description “staring out to sea” on Portobello beach the day after she disappeared but little else is known about her movements after arriving in Scotland.
Detective Superintendent Martin Maclean asked anyone with information on Ms Ahmed’s movements between her arrival in Edinburgh and her remains being found to come forward - whether a taxi or bus driver, someone at a bed and breakfast, or someone she travelled to the city to meet.
Det Supt Ma clean said: “Today’s appeal is to go back out to the public to ask for anybody out there who can help us with Saima’s movements... she’s had to travel from the train station, probably to the east of the city and then back across the city.
“The passage of time from Saima going missing to when her remains were recovered has been t he biggest challenge because a lot of the CCTV opportunities disappear.
“We’ve exhausted every line of inquiry... she travelled alone, she wasn’t - as far as we can ascertain - travelling to meet anybody, which is not to say that she didn’t meet somebody but we’ve got no evidence to suggest that, and the extensive forensic work that we did with Saima’s remains has not provided any evidence of criminality.”