Detectives head north looking to resolve mysterious 2013 death

Inquiries into a Caithness cold case hope to put fresh eyes on the mysterious death of Lybster man.

Detectives have travelled north to review the death of Stefan Sutherland, speaking to members of the public door-to-door.

The 25-year-old went missing in Lybster on Friday the 6th of September 6 2013.

His body was found on the shoreline at nearby Occumster over a week later.

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, owing to the nature of Sutherland's injuries.

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 2013 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'

'At the moment Stefan has died and we don't know what happened' - Katrina Sutherland

'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'

'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'.

'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 pod will be parked in Lybster, where people can also speak to officers.

DS 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 the 6th of September 2013 and Tuesday the 17th of September 17 2013 has information which may assist our inquiry'

'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 to contact us.'

• stefan sutherland
• Lybster
• Caithness
• Kevin McLeod
• Police Scotland