A man has been arrested and charged by police in connection with the death of Ean Coutts.
Mystery has surrounded the disappearance of Mr Coutts since remains found at a Fife industrial estate were identified as those of the 61-year-old in January.
They had been discovered in at Whitehill Industrial Estate, Glenrothes, in September but the identity of the body was not known until four months later.
Now, a 31-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with his death and will appear at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Thursday.
Remains unidentified for months
The remains of Mr Coutts were not identified by police until four months after their discovery.
After his body was found in a remote area of the industrial estate, the police alerted the families of Allan Bryant Jnr, missing since 2003, and Kenny Jones, missing since 1998.
However, just a month later the families were told that the remains did not belong to either of the Glenrothes men.
In November 2020, police released a facial reconstruction of what they believed the man would have looked like when he was alive.
They were then contacted by Pauline Gibson, the sister of Paul Booth, a Cumbernauld man missing since 2016.
While Mrs Gibson believed the remains to be those of her brother, police did not confirm a match.
Less than two months later they would announce that the remains belonged to Ean Coutts.
‘Lovely’ man
Mr Coutts lived in Kinglassie for 20 years before his disappearance.
Locals said he had not been seen in the village since 2019, although he was not reported missing.
The ex-Army cook was described by residents as a ‘lovely’ man, with neighbour Kayti Dickinson, said: “He was well known and liked by everyone. It’s hard to believe the remains found last year are him.”
Another neighbour added: “Everybody seemed to know him and nobody ever had a bad word to say about him.
“He was always tending to his garden which was immaculate.
“He never failed to give you a smile whenever you saw him and always made sure he let on whenever he saw you.
“It’s just so sad, especially as he was such a lovely person.”
Following the identification of his remains, police launched an extensive investigation into the death of Mr Coutts.
Specialist officers were deployed and several properties in the small village were searched.
Those who knew Ean were also asked to come forward in an attempted to gather more information about his disappearance.
Police confirm arrest
A police spokesperson said on Wednesday: “Following enquiries into the death of Ean Coutts, whose remains were found in the Whitehill Industrial Estate, Glenrothes on September 27, 2020, Police Scotland can confirm that a 31-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with the death.
“He is due to appear at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Thursday December 16, 2021.”
