Police probing the death of Inverness musician Liam Colgan – whose body was this week recovered from a river in Germany 10 weeks after he vanished – say the cause will be known within days.
A post mortem examination is currently being carried out and, while formal identification is still to take place, both police and postman Liam’s family have confirmed it was that of the missing Scot given the fact his driving licence was found and the clothes matched those he was wearing the night he disappeared.
The body was recovered from the River Elbe in Hamburg on Monday, less than a mile from where the 29-year-old was last pictured alive on CCTV.
He had been in the city on February 10 on a stag do had he organised for his brother Eamonn.
A spokesman for Hamburg Police said: “We hope that the identification will be confirmed at the end of the week. Perhaps we are also able to say something about the cause of death [at the same time].
“So far, the family is not in Hamburg and as we know they don`t plan to come to Hamburg in the following days.”
He added: “We are going on the assumption that this was the result of an accident on Liam’s part.
“We have absolutely no evidence that it was the result of an attack, but we need to wait for the post mortem examination. Further investigations are continuing.”
A witness spotted remains in the water, near the port’s HafenCity University, at 6.35am on Monday.
Liam’s disappearance sparked a major search in the city and further afield. The efforts were spearheaded by brother Eamonn, now based in Dundee working as a policeman. He postponed his wedding while searches took place.
Family supporter and Inverness MP Drew Hendry said: “It is such a devastating conclusion to an extraordinarily difficult time for Liam’s family, who have put so much effort into finding him.”
