No further action is to be taken after Police Scotland was investigated for its handling of the Jamie Cannon case.

Saltcoats man Jamie was first reported missing from his Three Towns home in May of 2021. 

His body was discovered nine months later, in February, 2022, in the Ardeer area of Stevenston.

The death was not treated as suspicious and a report was sent to the procurator fiscal.

Numerous searches had taken place throughout this nine month period before the discovery was made.

It was then announce in late March of last year that the handling of the case had been referred to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) - an independent organisation who investigate incidents involving policing bodies in Scotland - by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).

Read more: Jamie Cannon: Police Scotland to be probed over handling of case

A statement on their website confirmed the investigation had been launched.

It said:  “The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has instructed us to investigate the circumstances of the death of a 20-year-old man from North Ayrshire whose body was discovered near Ardeer on Saturday, February 26, 2022.”

This statement remained in the 'live investigations' section of the website until the PIRC launched their new website in late September of this year.

Following this, The Herald contacted the police watchdog for a further update on the investigation.

The Herald was then informed that the PIRC submitted its report to the COPFS in July of 2022.

Any decision of further action to be taken following the findings included in this report then fell to the COPFS - who informed us last week that no further action was required.

A spokesperson for the COPFS said: “The Procurator Fiscal received a report in connection with the death of a 20-year-old man near Ardeer, North Ayrshire on February 26, 2022.

“A report was received from the Police Investigations & Review Commissioner (PIRC) and was considered as part of the investigation.

“The investigation into the death was completed and after careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, the Procurator Fiscal concluded that no further action was required.

“The family have been informed of this decision."