Police drones brought in on Stefan case
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
POLICE Scotland used air support in the form of drones at the weekend to comb the coastline at Occumster for any clues in the Stefan Sutherland case.
This follows on from a period of intensive inquiry at Lybster in which every household was visited by detectives from the Major Investigation Team probing the circumstances surrounding Stefan's death in September 2013.
At the weekend, a specialist air investigation team surveyed the coastline around Occumster with a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS), more commonly known as a drone.
Twenty-five-year-old Stefan was found dead in September 2013 after being missing for 11 days. His body was discovered by a member of the public on the shoreline at Occumster, near the family home at The Moorings.
Stefan had been last seen entering a house at Lybster's Shelligoe Road on September 6, 2013.
At the time, police concluded Stefan’s death was either an accident or suicide.
His family, however, believe that he suffered serious injuries prior to his death and point out that DNA evidence shows that spots of Stefan's blood were found at the house he visited in Shelligoe Road.
In February 2015 the Facebook site Justice 4 Stefan was set up to try to establish the truth about what happened to him and campaign for a fresh inquiry into the case.
Many of those commenting on the page say that this current inquiry is long overdue.
Stefan's father Sandy said that he had spoken with members of the Police Scotland Air Support Unit who were deploying the RPAS at the weekend and hopes that the drone footage might uncover some fresh line of investigation.
"I welcome any movement that will take this forward," he said.
Police carrying out the cold case review told the family that at least 10 witnesses, who could potentially have provided vital clues, were never formally spoken to by officers.
The exhumation of Stefan's body remains an option in the re-investigation.
Members of the public with any information are urged to call 101 or email Operation Husten on SCDHolmesDundee@scotland.pnn.police.uk.
