THE LOST BOY
Forty years ago, a child of three chased after his dog ...and never came home. Now his sister, with him on that day, tells how the mystery haunts her still
IT WAS a happy and familiar childhood scene: a young boy and his little sister playing in their grandmother’s garden. Enjoying the warmth of a fine spring day, they laughed and shouted as they ran around the grass with their dog. And then something awful; a tragedy that – even four decades later – still casts the darkest of shadows over the life of their whole family. For April 23, 1976, is the date seared into Donna Davidson’s mind: the day her brother disappeared.
Although her own memories of the day are indistinct – she was barely two years old – she has relived the sequence of events so many times it is crystal clear. She and Sandy, just a month short of his fourth birthday, ran after the dog when he escaped from the garden; but only she and the dog ever came back.
Sandy’s disappearance sparked one of the biggest search operations ever seen in Scotland – and remains one of its longest-running missing persons investigations. Among the theories at the time were that Sandy had fallen in a nearby river, been hurt in building works, or – most sinister of all – been abducted.
Next month marks the 40th anniversary of the perplexing case, and the Scottish Mail on Sunday can reveal that detectives are considering a fresh appeal for information hoping that, even after the passage of so much time, they could still uncover the truth about what happened that fateful day.
For Miss Davidson, the intervening decades have been haunted by the spectre of her missing brother.
As she has moved from childhood to adulthood, Sandy has remained unchanged in the treasured photos from the family album: a wee boy with bright eyes and wavy, blond hair.
With every passing year, he missed another birthday and another Christ-
mas – his absence keenly felt at every family gathering.
Last week Miss Davidson, now 42, told how she is resigned to the likelihood her brother is no longer alive but still hopes that a new appeal could finally uncover answers.
She said: ‘We just want to know where Sandy is and be able to lay him to rest, be able to grieve for him and try to move on. With so many years having passed, if somebody is to blame there’s every chance they’re on their last legs. They could do the decent thing – I don’t see what they have got to gain by not letting the family know.’
While their parents Philip and Margaret were at work, the children were in the care of their grandmother Mary Bunce, whose home in Irvine, Ayrshire, was just a few doors from their own.
It was as they played outdoors – their gran inside but within earshot – that the unthinkable happened after Afghan hound Kissie ran off.
Miss Davidson explained: ‘There was a gate, which was bolted, so we think somebody opened the gate and the dog got out then both Sandy and I went after it. The dog and I came back; Sandy never did.’
Their grandmother’s frantic scan of the surrounding area coupled with her concerned calls to the boy yielded nothing. She raised the alarm and the search began in earnest.
Family, friends and neighbours joined police as they scoured the neighbourhood. At the time, the Bourtreehill estate where the family lived was under construction so sand pits, scaffolding, cement mixers and even vacant properties made attractive hideouts for an inquisitive lad.
Police described the public response that followed as ‘remarkable’ after people travelled from all over Ayrshire and Glasgow to help.
It was suggested that the child had climbed into an open car or other vehicle and was mistakenly taken away by unwitting strangers or delivery drivers who had visited the scheme that day.
Indeed, Mr Davidson revealed how a year earlier his son had crept into the back of a van and was discovered ‘miles away in Lanarkshire’.
At that time, the father maintained hope and prayed his young son was still alive. However, as days passed, the worry racking him and his wife developed into a gut-churning fear that he had met harm. A joiner working nearby is understood to have spotted Sandy leaving in a car with a man but thought nothing of it because the cheery child seemed unfazed.
Since then, despite repeated appeals and the odd potential lead, nothing has offered the family significant hope of a resolution. Miss Davidson, a grandmother-of-one, said: ‘I believe somebody took him.
‘My mum would like to think that somebody has taken him and brought him up as their own, somebody with a family who has brought him up well but I don’t think that’s the case. I think he has been murdered.
‘Not knowing is the worst part. It’s not something you want to hear about but the not knowing is torture.’ She continued: ‘There’s always that wee bit of hope but personally I don’t think he’s alive.
‘There’s a body that needs to be found, he’s out there somewhere.’
Through tears, the bar worker added: ‘It’s a long time and I know people say time’s a healer but I think it’s been worse recently, maybe because we’re coming up to this anniversary. I don’t think we’ve had the chance to grieve.’
Her tireless quest for information has seen her take part in missing children campaigns and set up a Facebook page dedicated to the search for her brother.
She explained: ‘I’ve felt every emotion – I’ve felt bad, I’ve felt guilty – and I think that’s what makes me keep doing it.’
Detectives working on the case recently contacted her as they pre- pared to heighten awareness of Sandy’s disappearance around the time of the anniversary.
In addition, support charity Missing People will use social media to re-publicise its appeal for help to find the now 43-year-old man, whose image was ‘age-progressed’ to that of an adult in the hope it would trigger recognition.
Last week, a police spokesman confirmed: ‘The Sandy Davidson inquiry remains an unresolved case and all information provided to Police Scotland by members of the public is carefully considered and investigated.’
She added: ‘Should any additional information on Sandy’s disappearance come to light, either now or in the future, it will be fully considered and investigated.’
Anyone with information on the case can contact the force by telephoning 101, she said.
For anyone who has gone missing, or loved ones who need support, Missing People’s free, round-the-clock helpline number is 16000.
‘I don’t think we’ve had
the chance to grieve’