Will draining quarry solve MacRae mystery?
AN Inverness businessman is offering to pay for a flooded quarry to be drained in the hope it will reveal the bodies of a mother and her young son who disappeared 42 years ago.
Renee MacRae and her three-year-old son Andrew vanished on November 12 1976, marking the start of a mystery which remains unsolved to this day.
It is believed they were murdered but the investigation into their disappearance has so far drawn a blank.
As the police this week returned to search key locations associated with the case, a diving unit went back to Leanach Quarry at Culloden Moor which was initially searched a year after the pair vanished. Police activity concluded at the quarry yesterday morning.
Brian MacGregor, of Bogbain Farm, south of the city, doubts whether an underwater camera could reveal much and has repeated a previous offer to meet the cost of draining the quarry.
"It is so simple to drain water out of there – 42 years have now passed and no-one has ever done it," he said.
He acknowledged his main motivation was to salvage a vintage steam lorry he believed was in the quarry, but said it might help to establish one way or another whether the location was key to the investigation.
Two years ago, Mr MacGregor offered to donate £5000 to a charity of the quarry owners’ choice in return for draining it, but his offer was rejected due to fears it could damage wildlife habitat.
Mr MacGregor’s own theory is that the bodies are buried beneath the A9 where a radar survey in 2006 revealed anomalies.
There has also been speculation that the mother and son could be buried at Dalmagarry quarry close to where Mrs MacRae’s burned-out BMW was found on the night of her disappearance, but an extensive search in 2004 revealed nothing.
Although this week’s developments are unexpected, Police Scotland insist it is not in response to anything specific or a new piece of information, and instead forms part of a wider operation to revisit key locations.
The investigation is being led by Detective Inspector Brian Geddes. He 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 enquiries.
"Police Scotland, along with our partners in the Scottish Police Authority Forensic Services, will continue to pursue any opportunities to progress the investigation, which will hopefully provide answers for the family of Renee and Andrew MacRae. Anyone with new information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."
