The sister of a man who disappeared more than six years ago has said the family is hoping for answers as detectives reviewing his death begin door-to-door inquiries.
Stefan Sutherland went missing in Lybster, Caithness, on Friday September 6 2013, aged 25.
His body was found on the shoreline at nearby Occumster on Tuesday September 17.
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Police Scotland began a review of the case last year to address concerns raised by Mr Sutherland’s family, who believe foul play was involved in his death.
On Tuesday, officers from the force’s major investigation team began door-to-door inquiries in the villages of Lybster and Latheronwheel to gather information relating to the case.
Mr Sutherland’s sister, Katrina Sutherland, welcomed the review and said she hopes to find out what happened to her brother.
She said: “It’s the best news we’ve had for six years, it’s most encouraging that we’ve got to this point.
“We don’t know what happened to Stefan, we have four different pathology reports.
“We’ve had lots of different stories about what happened to him.
“We would just like to find out what did happen to Stefan.”
She added: “The family believe he was a victim of foul play but we need to get to the bottom of that and be able to deal with it once and for all.
“At the moment Stefan has died and we don’t know what happened.
“At the moment police are still conducting inquiries. If that leads them to believe that foul play is a factor then I dare say they will turn it into a murder investigation.
“Nobody likes to believe that a family member was murdered but it is something we’ve considered.”
Ms Sutherland said her brother’s death is never far from the family’s thoughts.
“The last few years – it just never goes away, it’s always there,” she said.
“It’s like Stefan is still the most talked about member of our family and he is not there.
“What happened to Stefan? What do you think happened to Stefan? Will we ever find out what happened to Stefan?
“It’s constantly there at the back of your mind. It’s never far from your thoughts.”
A team of 15 officers will carry out door-to-door inquiries over the coming days and a mobile police office will be parked in Lybster, where people can also speak to officers.
Detective Superintendent Graeme Mackie, who is leading the review, said: “We are keen to establish if local residents or anyone who may have visited the area between Friday September 6 2013 and Tuesday September 17 2013 has information which may assist our inquiry.
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“Anyone with information about Stefan’s death is asked to please come forward and speak to officers.
“Stefan was well known in the local community and I would also encourage those who saw him between 10pm on Friday September 6 2013 and 12pm on Tuesday September 17 2013 to contact us.”
Anyone with information who lives outside the area of Lybster and Latheronwheel can contact Police Scotland on 101 and request information to be passed to Operation Husten or email SCDHolmesDundee@scotland.pnn.police.uk.
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