No plaque exists to commemorate the life of Lynne Murray because for many years it wasn’t known whether the mum-of-two from Torry was missing but alive, or if she had died.
The 48-year-old daughter of Mary Murray, memorialised on the Greyhope Bay bench, went missing in August 2006 after visiting Mary in hospital.
While both her parents died without ever finding out what happened to Lynne, some answers have since been given to her family.
We’ve decided to pay tribute to Lynne, who was unable to receive a proper obituary, but who was loved and is missed still by her family and her community.
Lynne Murray – popular Torry quine
Lynne was born and raised in Torry and worked at Torry Nursing Home – where her mum would later reside.
Divorced, she and her two sons Wayne and Mikey were very much a part of Torry life and Lynne was very well known in the community.
On the day she went missing, August 21 2006, she had just visited her mum in hospital.
Her dad, Bob, had recently suffered a heart attack.
Lynne had also become a grandmother to son Wayne and his partner Michelle’s first child, Jay. She was living with her growing family in Ferryhill.
The last to see Lynne, on the day she disappeared, were her aunt and uncle, also visiting Mary at the hospital.
At the time Bob said he hadn’t a clue why she disappeared though he did perceive, with hindsight, that there were signs of depression. He continued to make appeals for his daughter’s return.
DNA request
It would be years before any answers would come.
Lynne’s brother Michael explained: “My sister disappeared in 2006. What we didn’t realise was that a piece of a human skull had been found in the nets of a Lerwick fisherman 60 miles west of Shetland, in 2008.
“Back then the technology wasn’t what it is today. No connection could be made.
“Then out of the blue CID came to my door and asked if they could check my DNA. That was just in 2019.”
Michael probed as to why his DNA was needed, asking if they had found out something about Lynne.
Reassured it was just standard procedure, he felt sure the situation had somehow changed.
Peace, at last
“Sure enough, the same detective came back two weeks later. He explained that DNA was able to be extracted from the skull, and thanks to my more recent DNA test, they now knew the skull belonged to Lynne.
“We’ll never know what happened, but for the first time we knew that Lynne had died. It did bring peace, though we’ve never been able to lay her to rest.”
Following the confirmation of Lynne’s death the family were then dealt another blow. It transpired her only remains had been discarded.
“I think they said that in between times the skull fragment had been incinerated. The DNA had been recorded but the skull thrown away,” said Michael.
By this time one of Lynne’s sons had died. It was his brother’s wish to bury Lynne’s remains with that of his sibling.
Deep sadness
“Without any remains, it’s really sad that couldn’t happen,” Michael added. “But we are grateful police never gave up and were able to bring us that peace. We know for certain that we have lost her.”
A spokesperson for Police Scotland confirmed that a death report was submitted to the Procurator Fiscal with respect to Lynne Murray.