Detectives investigating the murder of Renee MacRae and her young son received several calls from the public in the wake of a recent appeal.
Police issued a fresh plea in November for any information which could help solve one of Scotland’s most shocking crimes as the Highlands marked the 40th anniversary of their disappearance.
The Press and Journal understands that the force were contacted by numerous members of the public in the wake of the media coverage, and that all the information provided is being probed.
Detective Chief Inspector Iain Smith last night urged anyone else with any details that could help to finally solve the infamous case to come forward.
“Police Scotland is grateful for all information received since our public appeal in November,” he said.
“Any information in connection with the murder of Renee and Andrew MacRae will be thoroughly investigated and police would encourage anyone who hasn’t already been in touch to make contact via 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
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. In the aftermath of the disappearance, it was said that the couple had been planning to start a new life on Shetland.
Mrs MacRae’s burned-out BMW was later found with a bloodstain in the boot in a layby off the A9, a mile south of Tomatin.
A murder inquiry was launched, but the bodies of the mother and her son Andrew have never been discovered and no one has ever been convicted of their killing.
Detective Superintendent Jim Smith, from Police Scotland’s Major Investigations Teams, also revealed in November that officers would investigate whether the bodies were buried under the A9.
Ever since their disappearance, speculation over the whereabouts of the bodies of the 36-year-old and three-year-old Andrew has focused on the A9 – which was being rebuilt at the time – and Dalmagarry Quarry.
That section of the road is due to be dug up next year as part of work to dual the A9 and investigators have revealed that they would work with contractors to finally uncover the truth.
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