Tayside Police is today continuing with investigations in Arbroath following the discovery of a woman's head on the foreshore near to the Angus town's South Street yesterday.

The area has been preserved as a crime scene overnight and officers are scheduled to begin the meticulous search of the beach later this morning. Timing of the search is determined to a significant degree by the tides.

Today the search will also be extended beyond the initial area where the head was discovered by two young children playing on the beach.

The woman's head was concealed inside a plastic bag. A hand was also recovered by police officers as the search commenced and a second hand was also recovered as enquiries continued.

It will be extended along the shoreline next to Victoria Park and will also take in the harbour area and towards the Signal Tower Museum in the opposite direction.

Detective Chief Inspector Graham McMillan, the senior investigating officer, said:

‘‘The body parts have been removed from the beach and a post mortem will be undertaken today, along with further forensic and pathological investigation today.

 

‘‘Clearly we are anxious to identify the deceased at the earliest opportunity. But I think it is fair to say that this investigation is in its infancy and it will take several days before we have forensic test results that could shed further light on the enquiry.’’

Tayside Police attended at the beach near to South Street shortly after 10.30am after the discovery was made by two young sisters.

Officers remain in close contact with the girls’ family and specialist officers will be speaking with the children again today.

The children’s mother was contacted by various members of the media yesterday with requests for interviews. Today, she has specifically requested that her family’s privacy is respected. 

As well as the continuing search in the immediate area, a HOLMES (Home Office Large and Major Crime Enquiry System) team has been established to assist the investigation.

At this stage, the deceased does not match any missing persons from within the Tayside Police force area and enquiries are continuing to try to establish if the discovery relates to any current missing persons.

Anyone who has any information that could assist enquiries should call Tayside Police immediately on Forfar (01307) 302200. Alternatively they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Previous Related Press Releases

01-04-2008 Discovery at Arbroath Beach