Renee MacRae and Andrew murder detectives examine A9 discovery of child’s potty and carpet evidence near Inverness

Murder investigators hunting for the bodies of Renee and Andrew MacRae have removed a child’s potty and length of carpet found a mile south of the infamous A9 Dalmagarry layby.

The items of potential evidence were uncovered by road workers and taken away by detectives for forensic examination.

UPDATE: Police Scotland murder detectives confirm they are examining potential Renee and Andrew MacRae A9 evidence

They were discovered between Tomatin and Invereen junctions during excavation and tree felling work carried out as part of Balfour Beatty’s £185 million Transport Scotland contract for dualling the A9 between Tomatin and Moy.

Before work began, police trying to solve the five decades old mystery of Renee and Andrew’s whereabouts gave contractors a list of items of possible evidence to look out for.

The list, relayed to workers at a routine morning briefing, included a suitcase, pushchair, coat and a yellow child’s potty.

Workers found the yellow potty and length of carpet nearby each other in thick undergrowth about 10 days ago.

The site, now screened by temporary red and white metal fencing, is about a mile away from Dalmagarry layby where Renee’s burning BMW car was discovered on the night of her and Andrew’s disappearance on November 12, 1976.

William MacDowell, then 80, was finally convicted at the High Court in Inverness on September 29, 2022 of murdering his lover Renee (36) and biological son Andrew (3).

Their bodies have never been found.

MacDowell, a former employee of Renee’s estranged husband Gordon MacRae, was sentenced to a minimum life imprisonment of 30 years by Lord Armstrong.

RECAP: The trial that finally convicted Inverness double murderer William MacDowell of deaths of Renee and Andrew MacRae in 1976

Just five months later, MacDowell died in prison, taking with him to the grave the secret of where he disposed of Renee and Andrew’s remains.

A source close to Balfour Beatty’s A9 project told how officers removed the items from the A9 roadside around March 15.

He said: “Police Scotland were at the site a couple of weeks ago to remind the workforce that the Renee and Andrew MacRae murder was still an ongoing investigation.

“Right now, there is work being undertaken on the A9 about a quarter of a mile from Dalmagarry Quarry.

“They sent an email with a list of things that, if found, they were to be alerted to - a suitcase, a pushchair, a coat and a yellow child’s potty, things like that.

“The police email was read out to all the roads crew at their morning briefing.

“Three or four days later, some of the boys there found a child’s potty. The potty had a yellow base.

“Police officers came some time later and removed the potty and a piece of rolled up carpet.

“Bear in mind, a lot of the site has been overgrown for many years. All the trees are getting lifted, there is lots of digging work, overgrown bits are getting raked out.

“The potty and the carpet were lying in dense undergrowth and not buried to my knowledge. The carpet was rolled up.

“I understand the police have asked Balfour Beatty to be alerted if and when any more digging work is to be done in that location.

“There is actually a water main going through there as part of the job. The police have asked to be contacted before they start digging for that.”

In 2004, a full cold case review led to the month-long excavation of Dalmagarry quarry near where the car was found. Numerous tonnes of earth and 2000 trees were removed in the search.

Dalmagarry Quarry was searched again in 2018, while the following year Leanach quarry became a new focus of the search to locate Renee and Andrew’s remains.

A Scottish diving unit revisited the scene to look for fresh clues and wheels of a pram similar to the one Renee had owned were found.

The Balfour Beatty workforce is present on the Moy to Tomatin stretch of the A9 as part of a three-year project to dual the section.

Motorists were recently warned of traffic management layout changes ahead of major construction works starting on Thursday, April 3.

On either side of the A9 over a 96km distance, there has already been extensive digging work and clearance of trees, thick bushes and rocks to make way for the expanded width of the road.

A Highland News and Media reporter and photographer visited the scene of the latest possible evidential find this morning. Were we not directed, it would have been impossible to know that it was a site of interest to police.

Police Scotland and Balfour Beatty have been contacted for comment.