Police scour databases after skeleton identified as man

DETECTIVES were today scouring national databases for missing persons after a skeletal body found on the banks of the River Almond during the hunt for missing Mary Ferns was identified as the remains of a man.

In a dramatic twist, police stumbled upon the human remains of a male in the Craigshill area of Livingston as part of the investigation into the missing 88-year-old pensioner.

Police were searching the riverbank area after new information came to light in January.

Lothian and Borders Police Police confirmed that the remains were found in "suspicious circumstances, in an area of undergrowth not easily accessible". Forensics have not yet determined how long the body has been on the riverbank.

It is understood that there are no prominent outstanding missing person cases in the Livingston area, prompting police to search further afield to identify the body.

Detectives are continuing the search for the missing retired nurse, however, the focus of the investigation has shifted to the new discovery.

Mrs Ferns vanished on June 17, 2008 after she travelled from her home in the Howden area of Livingston to Edinburgh city centre. She had told her husband Bill, 83, that she was popping out to buy some socks.

He thought she had gone to Livingston, but CCTV cameras in Edinburgh picked her out walking with her distinctive floral walking stick along Princes Street in the direction of Leith Walk.

Despite several national television appeals police have not had a breakthrough on the missing person case.

A Lothian and Borders Police spokeswoman said: "We don't know at this point who it is and we don't know whether there has been foul play until the examination has been carried out."

Detective Inspector Phil Gachagan, leading the inquiry, said forensic teams are excavating the remains. He said: "We are appealing for anyone with any information regarding these remains, to get in touch.

"It may be some time before this person is identified, as they have been at the scene for a significant amount of time, and painstaking inquiries will have to be carried out.

"This was part of a search that was being carried out following new information with regards to Mary Ferns."

Following Mrs Ferns' disappearance, police had drafted in an underwater search unit from Central Scotland Police to scour the river bed.

DI Gachagan added: "The area in general was searched at the time but this particular area was not. The search parameters have been extended. The area where the body was found is not that close to the water's edge and the terrain means if someone had been lying there they would have been concealed by undergrowth. We can't say yet the length of time the body has been there."