Hospital search for teen mother Mary who went missing in 1976
New bid to solve riddle of girl who went to meet friend and was never seen again
POLICE have begun digging up the grounds of a hospital in the search for a teenager who disappeared more than 40 years ago.
Mary Duncan went missing as a 17year-old from her home in Bonhill, Dunbartonshire, in March 1976.
The teenager, who had a 13-month-old child, vanished after telling her family she was going to meet a friend.
Her baby daughter, Laura, later died of natural causes.
Detectives from Police Scotland started their investigation at two sites at the Vale of Leven Hospital, Alexandria, Dunbartonshire, yesterday.
The dig is expected to last several weeks, a force spokesman said.
Detective Superintendent Calum Young from West Dunbartonshire CID said: ‘Mary left her home at 17 years of age, with no money and has never claimed benefits, paid tax or National Insurance.
‘She also left behind her baby girl Laura, who family say she absolutely adored. Extensive inquiries continue in an attempt to find any indication of where Mary could be.
‘However, due to the fact that she has not been seen or heard from in 44 years, we must consider the option that she may have come to harm.
‘Specialist officers will be searching a number of locations at the Vale of Leven Hospital in connection with the investigation.’
The operation comes just over a year after police searched the former home of her stepfather, a convicted paedophile.
In April last year forensic teams entered the property where 73year-old Norman Duncan once lived in the nearby village of Ladyton. He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2016 for six historical sexual offences against girls between 1968 and 1976.
Speaking previously Miss Duncan’s sister Marion McFarlane, 61, said: ‘It would be wonderful for us to get her back, especially at this time.
‘That’s a whole generation that is missing from our family.’
Another sister, Debbie Rennick, 57, told the BBC: ‘Over the years, we have come to realise she is no longer alive. But this investigation gaining momentum has given us hope that we might get some kind of resolution.’
Miss Duncan’s mother, Ruby, died in 1989 aged 50, having never discovered what happened to her daughter.
Marie Farrell, director of Clyde Sector, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: ‘We have been working with Police Scotland on the planned excavation of a number of sites in the grounds of the Vale of Leven Hospital. We would like to reassure patients that there will be no disruption to patient care as a consequence of these inquiries.’
In 2018, Police Scotland’s Major Investigations Team launched a fresh probe into Miss Duncan’s disappearance after new information emerged.
The force asked former officers in the Strathclyde Police Serious Crime Squad between 1976 and 1979 to come forward.
They issued the appeal on social media used by retired officers.
One of the sites, Semper Vigilo – Strathclyde Police’s motto – has more than 4,000 users.
The former officers were urged to call the Operation Senator incident room in Dumbarton but no details were given.
Detectives said Miss Duncan was known to frequent the grounds of the Vale of Leven Hospital.
At the time, they also appealed to people who worked at Vale of Leven Hospital in 1976 to get in touch with them.
‘Left her home with no money’