By Paul Thornton
A BODY has been found in the garden of a man who has been missing for more than two months.
Despite a nationwide police search, 64-year-old Alan Goulden has not been seen since August 30.
But yesterday (Friday) a member of the public on Maybury Road in Edinburgh stumbled across the remains of a man in a bush just yards from his and his wife’s door.
Police have not yet confirmed whether this is the body of the former RAF serviceman and say they are treating the death as “unexplained”.
Last night worried neighbours expressed surprise that a body could lay so near a busy walkway without being discovered despite a police statement saying that the grim find was in a “decomposed state”.
Police cordoned off the block of flats in South Maybury after the 1pm discovery and officers wearing white forensic suits searched the area late into the night.
The area where the body was found was covered by a white tent.
One neighbour said she was shocked by the discovery so close to Mr Goulden’s home.
The 68-year-old said: “I didn’t actually know there had been a body found but I assumed that was what it was.
“There has been all this activity since lunch time, if it is him I am very surprised that his body has been there all this time.
“When it first happened they searched and they searched and they searched. They were in all the buckets and over at the Gyle searching.
“There must have been 11 or 12 of them here for days and I had three or four visits from them.
“They flattened some hedges just around the corner, but I don’t think the one’s where the police are now were flattened.
“I know some of the hedges were very big and thick, I don’t know how much they would thin over the winter.”
Lothian and Border’s Police recently announced they were stepping up the search for the father-of-two, whose son is a high ranking officer in the force.
On September 9 – more than a week after he vanished – police trawled the River Almond and searched Cramond Island for any clues.
After four weeks and no fresh information on Mr Goulden’s whereabouts police set up roadside checks at a bus stop in Corstorphine to question members of the public.
Officers chose the spot outside the Magnet store on St John’s Road afters specially trained police dogs lead them to the area.
Another neighbour said he was shocked the busy walk-way outside the home had not revealed the body sooner, if it had been there for some time.
The 26-year-old said: “I found out the police were here earlier today and saw them when I got home from work.
“If it is him it surprises me that no one has seen the body right on the doorstep. If it has been there all the time it is strange that it has not been seen.
“A lot of dog walkers go past that way and you would expect that a body is something that a dog would go for.”
Fears for Mr Goulden were heightened by the fact he is diabetic and left the house without his supply of insulin.
Relatives insisted his disappearance was ‘out of character’ and police pulled out all the stops in their efforts to find him with a full page advert in a national newspaper.
Officers also issued hundreds of appeal posters across the city and placed photographs of the missing man on Lothian Buses.
He is described as white, 5ft 7in to 5ft 8in tall, medium build, with a ruddy/red complexion and short, light brown hair.
He was believed to be wearing a navy blue Nordic-make waist-length jacket, light blue jumper, checked shirt, trousers and brown leather shoes on the morning he was last seen.
Last night a police spokesman said: “The body is in a decomposed state and enquiries are ongoing in order to establish the man’s identity, as well as how he came to be in the bushes.
“At this time the death is being treated as unexplained, and we currently have forensic officers and detectives carrying out investigations at the scene.”
ENDS
