Given Watch SE but cannot remove Activation Lock even the previous owner removed it from his iCloud ACNT

Given an Apple Watch SE recently. The previous owner has removed the watch from his iCloud account but I still failed to pair the watch with my phone. It kept asking iCloud account sign in! The previous owner is in another city in the case we cannot go to a Genuis Bar together. Frustrating! Any idea of the problem to be solved remotely? Thanks!