Body Found in East Sands Harbour After Emergency ‘Multi-Agency’ Search

A major emergency response was launched at East Sands on Tuesday morning, 14 April, after a bloodied T-shirt was discovered on the pier, Coastguard crews confirmed to The Courier.

Emergency services, including police, coastguard teams, and a rescue helicopter, were called to the scene at around 8:20am, and the harbour area was subsequently taped off. National lifeboat crews from Arbroath, Dundee, and Anstruther were dispatched as part of the response.

Approximately an hour later, an ambulance unit dispatched an emergency stretcher at 9:20am to recover a body that was found in the harbour.

A worker from Harbour Cafe agreed to provide a witness statement to The Saint. Upon attempting to enter the harbour from Ayton House Road, she was stopped by police officers who told her she would be unable to access the Harbour Cafe while the scene was still taped off. As the worker waited behind the tape, she saw a body bag being placed in an ambulance. 

In a statement to The Courier, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: 

“Around 8:20am on Tuesday, 14 April, 2026, we were made aware of belongings having been found at St Andrews Harbour.

“A multi-agency search was conducted, and a body was recovered from the water.

“The death is being treated as unexplained but is not believed to be suspicious. A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal in due course.”

As this story continues to break, this article will be updated periodically.

Photo by Charlotte Smith