New lead in body mystery

Police made a final appeal for information this week

Police on the Isle of Skye hope they may have finally solved a mystery over the identity of a man whose body was found more than a year ago.

Northern Constabulary said that a family from the south of England had come forward following a media appeal.

Inspector Sandy Gray made a final plea on Wednesday in an attempt to identify the man, who was due to be buried on Friday.

I truly hope that it results in a positive identification and that we can reunite the man with his family

Inspector Sandy Gray

On Thursday, a spokesperson for the force said: "A family from the south of England have come forward today with information which appears to be positive.

"As a result of this new information, the funeral arrangements... have been postponed on the instruction of the Procurator Fiscal at Portree."

Inspector Gray thanked the media for its coverage of the case.

"I truly hope that it results in a positive identification and that we can reunite the man with his family," he said.

The body was found in a makeshift shelter near Sleat on the south of Skye in October 2001.

Cause of death

There were no documents among the possessions of the middle-aged man, who was wearing a distinctive sweatshirt showing Skye's global co-ordinates.

A post-mortem examination failed to reveal the cause of death.

However, police produced an artist's impression drawn from forensic evidence.