Family 'heartbroken' by student Duncan Sim's death

Duncan Sim's family said they had lost a "much loved son, brother, uncle and friend"

The family of a missing student have said they are "heartbroken" following the formal identification of human remains found in St Andrews.

Duncan Sim, 19, had last been seen on 14 March outside Madras Rugby Club on the town's Old Station Road.

A major search operation - which involved people from his hometown of Duns - failed to trace him.

Human remains were discovered earlier this month at West Sands in St Andrews and have now been formally identified.

In a statement released through Police Scotland, Mr Sim's family said: "We are heartbroken by the loss of Duncan, our much loved son, brother, uncle and friend.

"We are very grateful for all the support that we received from the public, especially the Fife and Scottish Borders communities, during the search for Duncan.

"We would also like to extend our thanks to Police Scotland for their efforts and support throughout the course of their investigations.

"We respectfully request privacy at this difficult time."

The last sighting of Mr Sim was when he left the Madras Rugby Club

Ch Insp Steven Hamilton said it was a "terrible loss of a young man's life" and offered his condolences to Mr Sim's family and friends.

"Their courage and co-operation over the course of our investigation has been commendable and we will continue to provide them with support and assistance as they come to terms with this tragic news," he said.

"I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all the members of the public who assisted with our inquiries by sharing our appeals information and supporting our search activity."

The discovery of the human remains was reported by a member of the public on the evening of Sunday 3 June.

Police said the death was being treated as "unexplained but not suspicious" and a report had been submitted to the procurator fiscal.