Submitting.
In Kinglassie, where a full forensic examination of Mr Coutts home in Main Street got underway yesterday, locals said the ex-Army cook had spoken of starting over again in a foreign country.
One villager said Mr Coutts had said he was going to Morocco or Thailand with a friend he had made and they planned to set up a business there.
And when he vanished from Kinglassie it was assumed he had moved abroad - where he is understood to have lived before - or returned to a previous home in England.
His council house - which appeared to have been abandoned - was later let to new tenants who do not form part of the investigation into his disappearance and death.
Human remains found on Fife industrial estate identified as Scot cops treat death as suspicious dailyrecord.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailyrecord.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Press Association 2021
Whitehill Industrial Estate
A man has been arrested after remains found on an industrial estate more than three months ago were identified.
The remains were found inside a unit on the estate in Whitehill Road, Glenrothes, on Sunday September 27 last year.
Police released a facial reconstruction created by experts at Liverpool John Moores University as part of their efforts to identify them.
They have now been identified as those of Ean Coutts, 61, who lived in the village of Kinglassie in Fife.
Police said his death is being treated as suspicious and appealed for information.
A 30-year-old man was arrested in connection with the death on Tuesday and released pending further inquiries.