The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Notorious site investigated in death probe
Police focus on areas throughout Tayside as net widened in search for clues over death of Annalise Johnstone
Police combed the area around a notorious witch’s site in Perthshire yesterday as the net widened in the Annalise Johnstone inquiry.
While officers on hands and knees searched a field next to Maggie Wall’s monument near Dunning – a few miles from where the 22-yearold’s body was discovered by the roadside near Auchterarder almost two weeks ago – colleagues swooped on a Dundee tool shop.
Police confirmed both operations were part of a major investigation into the mysterious death of the young woman from Ardrossan, who had come to Perthshire to babysit for her brother on May 9.
Inquiries were also continuing in the Inchture area, where the car Annalise travelled in was seized hours after her body was found by a member of the public on May 10.
The B8062 road from Auchterarder to Dunning has been closed since the grim discovery and a number of properties remain sealed off.
It is believed at least 11 sites are being examined as part of the police investigation, including Maggie Wall’s monument which is rumoured to commemorate a woman burnt as a witch in 1657 and which achieved notoriety in the 1960s when it was visited by the Moors Murderers during their killing spree.
Police targeted sites across Tayside as the net widened in the investigation into the death of Annalise Johnstone.
As officers combed the ground around a notorious witch’s memorial near Dunning in Perthshire — a few miles from where the young woman’s body was found almost two weeks ago — colleagues in Dundee swooped on a hardware shop in the city.
A scenes of crime van was among a group of vehicles stationed outside the Toolstation store on King’s Cross Road. Police confirmed they were there as part of the investigation into the 22 year-old’s death.
Inquiries are also continuing in the Inchture area, where a car linked to the case was discovered last week.
The B8062 road between Dunning and Auchterarder, where Miss Johnstone’s body was found on May 10, remains closed and officers are carrying out investigations at a number of sites between the two towns.
Officers – some with metal detectors, others on their hands and knees – carried out a painstaking search of a field next to Maggie Wall’s monument near Dunning yesterday.
The memorial, which was supposedly erected in memory of a woman burnt as a witch at the site in 1657, remained sealed off with black tarpaulin laid on the ground.
The monument achieved notoriety when it was visited by Moors Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley during their killing spree in the 1960s.
A large wooded area nearby was also cordoned off yesterday.
Officers confirmed the operation was linked to the death of Miss Johnstone, which is being treated as suspicious.
Her body was found a few miles along the B8062, nearer to Auchterarder.
She had travelled to the town from her home in Ardrossan the previous day to babysit for her brother and was dropped off at an address in Ruthven Court.
The car she travelled in, a silver Ford Galaxy, was seized in Inchture on
May 11.
Police are still trying to trace a mobile phone, wallet and bag of medicine as they try to piece together her final moments.
Two homes in Auchterarder have been cordoned off since the inquiry began.
A neighbour at one of the properties, on Strathallan Way, said police stormed into the house at 3am on May 11 but it was believed to be empty.
The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “I haven’t seen anyone living there for a while.
“They are part of the travelling community and you would often not see anyone in there for a week or two at a time. There was a man, a woman and four children in there from time to time.
“The police have been back and forth ever since.”
The man said the last time he saw the occupants was on Tuesday May 8.
Another neighbour said officers had been asking about the Johnstone family.
The man, who has lived in the area with his partner for about 20 years, said: “What surprises is me is how much resources and people they’ve put into this but they haven’t caught anyone yet.
“I heard there were travelling people living in the flat and you would often see a white Transit van there but I’ve not seen that since the police have been watching the place.”