Police scour quarry for missing mother and son, 42 years on
Fresh search at site for remains of Renee MacRae
‘Brings their killer to court’
POLICE investigating the disappearance of a mother and her young son more than 40 years ago have returned to a disused quarry in the hope they can finally solve the mystery.
Renee MacRae and her son Andrew disappeared on the night of November 12, 1976. Her burned-out car was discovered in a layby on the A9.
Mrs MacRae, 36, had been on her way to see her lover, William MacDowell, for a weekend in Perth. He claimed she failed to turn up and has always denied any involvement in the disappearances.
The case is Britain’s longest running unsolved missing persons inquiry.
Police launched a murder investigation and there was speculation the bodies of Mrs MacRae and her son were either buried in a quarry or at a construction site on the A9, which was undergoing a major upgrade.
No trace of the mother of two or Andrew, three, was ever found.
Yesterday it emerged police are again searching Leanach Quarry at Culloden Moor, near Inverness. The water-filled quarry was searched in 1977 after claims a bag containing a human head had been seen there. But Navy divers only recovered several bags of rubbish and the search was called off.
A police diving unit from Aberdeen yesterday began searching the water using a remotely operated vehicle. They are expected to be working at the quarry for at least a week.
Detective Inspector Brian Geddes said: ‘As part of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Renee and Andrew MacRae, officers are visiting key areas of interest in order to establish any further opportunities to progress inquiries.
‘The passage of time is no barrier to the investigation of unresolved incidents of this nature.
‘Police Scotland, along with our partners in the Scottish Police Authority forensics services, will continue to pursue any opportunities to progress the investigation, which will hopefully provide answers for the family of Renee and Andrew MacRae.’
Mrs MacRae’s blue BMW was discovered in a layby on the A9 near Dalmagarry, 11 miles south of Inverness.
A huge manhunt, which included aerial searches along the A9 and divers searching two quarries, proved fruitless.
During a cold-case review in 2004, officers spent three weeks excavating Dalmagarry quarry near where the burning car was found, but detectives discovered nothing of interest.
Mrs MacRae’s sister, Morag Govans, said she hoped the latest search would finally give her some answers.
The 80-year-old, of Inverness, said: ‘I believe that the quarry was used as a dumping ground for years before and after Renee and Andrew went missing and the police couldn’t have been sure that the correct bag was found.
‘It makes sense that Leanach Quarry is the only likely place that Renee or Andrew are, given what has been reported in the past.
‘It probably means that I will have another long wait before knowing anything, but I have waited over 40 years and another few months won’t matter if it brings their killer to court.’
Mrs MacRae grew up in Beauly, Inverness-shire. She married Gordon MacRae, whose building company had an annual turnover of £30million, and the couple lived together in Inverness with their two sons, Gordon and Andrew.
But five years into her marriage, Mrs MacRae started an affair with Mr MacDowell and by November 1976, she and her husband had separated.
He knew his wife had a lover but did not know the man’s identity. She had told Mr MacRae that she had been planning to visit her sister in Kilmarnock on the night she disappeared.
She had dropped off her elder son, Gordon, 9, with her husband at his work around 5pm before driving south. When her car was found later that night there was a bloodstain in the boot.
Police later learned Mrs MacRae planned to begin a new life with Mr MacDowell, who claimed to be Andrew’s real father.
The case has been subject to numerous reviews over the years. Police named a suspect in a report to the procurator fiscal in October 2006, but the Crown Office declared there was insufficient evidence to take the case to court.