Murder detectives are poised to finally discover if Renee MacRae and her son were buried under the north’s busiest road four decades ago.
Police revealed they will work with A9 workers in the next few months to find out the truth about an “anomaly” under the road which could solve one of Scotland’s most shocking crimes.
Mrs MacRae’s family – who will mark the 40th anniversary of her disappearance tomorrow – said it was “never too late” to catch the killer as they issued an emotional appeal for justice.
The burned-out BMW car belonging to Mrs MacRae was found with a bloodstain in the boot in a layby off the A9, a mile south of Tomatin, on November 12, 1976.
Ever since, speculation about the whereabouts of the bodies of the 36-year-old and her three-year-old son Andrew has focussed on the A9 – which was being rebuilt at the time – and nearby Dalmagarry Quarry.
In 2006, local farmer Brian MacGregor commissioned a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) scan which identified an “anomaly” beneath the northbound carriageway of the A9 near the village of Moy.
Police have not acted on the finding and have rejected claims which led to the survey from two workmen who reported seeing unusual disturbance on the road on the night of the disappearance.
But that section of the road is due to be dug up next year as part of work to dual the A9, and investigators have now revealed that they are poised to act.
Detective Superintendent Jim Smith, from Police Scotland’s Major Investigations Teams, said: “We will engage with the contractor which is doing the work on the A9, just to have a look at the area where the GPR report is reporting an anomaly.
“To qualify that, from what we’ve understood from the GPR report, if you were to carry that out on other areas of the A9, it may well have the same anomaly, but we need to explore that further and we will do so in the fullness of time with the contractor.”
Asked how hopeful he was that the move could lead to a breakthrough, he said: “If there is something there, great.
“If I thought the bodies were there we would be there just now, so we need to take it one stage at a time and engage with the contractor and see what opportunities are there, and if we need to bring specialists in further down the line, that will be built into the plan.
“It’s certainly something that won’t be forgotten about and will be looked at.”
Mrs MacRae left her home in the Cradlehall area of Inverness with both her sons on November 12, 1976, before dropping her elder son Gordon at the home of her estranged husband Gordon MacRae.
She turned south on to the A9, reportedly on her way to meet her lover, Bill MacDowell, an accountant in her husband’s building company, with the couple said to be planning to start a new life on Shetland.
A murder inquiry was launched, but the bodies of the mother and her son have never been found and no one has ever been convicted of their killing.
Det Sup Smith yesterday used the 40th anniversary to issue a fresh appeal for information for the “golden nugget” that can finally solve the case.
“I think the fact that Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of initially the disappearance of Christine MacRae and her son Andrew MacRae, which then became a murder investigation, it would be remiss of us as an organisation, and as decent people, to not bring it back into the public eye.
“We’re looking for that golden nugget that can bring this investigation forward, push it forward to get a resolution to it.
“Somebody out there within the community may have allegiances which have changed, may have a conversation that they’ve overheard, or something that’s absolutely critical to this investigation, that for whatever reason they’ve never come forward previously.
“My appeal is to any individual that has that level of knowledge or information, 40 years have passed, the time is now to come forward.”
Asked if time was running out to find the killer, Det Sup Smith said: “Key witnesses, as time moves on, these people will pass away, so yes, time is of the essence, there’s no doubt about that.”
The senior investigating officer (SIO) admitted that the failure to resolve the long-running mystery continued to hurt the police’s pride.
“Any unresolved homicide I think is painful for an SIO at any time in their career. Me as an individual, I’m absolutely committed, I have resources there.
“I’m hopeful that somebody out there will come forward with that golden nugget. If that happens, we are ready to respond to that.”
He added: “There is a family there that are desperate for answers. We have engaged with the sister of Christine MacRae and also the son Gordon MacRae, and the whole family are really anxious to get some sort of closure to this, as are we, as are the community I’m sure.”