Saima Ahmed: Brother Issues Appeal Over 'Unascertained' Death

The brother of a woman who was found dead months after being reported missing has made an appeal for information on the anniversary of her disappearance.

Saima Ahmed went missing from her home in Wembley, London, on 30 August 2015 and five months later her body was discovered in Edinburgh.

The 36-year-old librarian's family say they have no idea why she would have travelled to Edinburgh and post mortem examinations have resulted in an "unascertainable" cause of death.

Ms Ahmed's brother Sadat said: "She is a very caring person so we have no idea why something like this would happen.

"Her disappearance was completely out of character so that is why we were so worried from day one."

Ms Ahmed was last seen on CCTV cameras boarding a train at Wembley Central station, where it is believed she took trains to Edinburgh via Hemel Hempstead and Birmingham.

There was an unconfirmed sighting of Ms Ahmed at Portobello Beach, Edinburgh, in the days after her disappearance.

The librarian's remains were found in the grounds of Gogar Mount House on 9 January.

Speaking near the mansion, Sadat Ahmed said: "It is difficult to come back here after a year still not knowing too much about what happened.

"She was a loving and caring person from a close family.

"We've been struggling since, it's been difficult without having any answers and it's been difficult to find closure and move on.

"Both the Scottish and the Met police are doing everything they can and there has been quite a large media appeal today, hopefully from that someone will come forward with some new information."

Detectives believe Ms Ahmed died close to the time she disappeared.

Police Scotland detective chief inspector Martin MacLean said: "The passage of time is a real challenge for us, in terms of the distance from when she went missing to when her body was recovered.

"A lot of CCTV opportunities dropped off which would be normal lines of enquiry for us."

Metropolitan Police is being investigated by the Independent Police Complains Commission over its initial handing of the missing person search.

Family members claimed that Met officers failed to take the case seriously despite Ms Ahmed's disappearance being "totally out of character".

The IPCC notified five officers they were under investigation, two for gross misconduct and three for misconduct, over the way they handled information and conducted the investigation.