Police and Army experts are to begin a dramatic new search to try and find the bodies of murdered Renee MacRae and her toddler son almost 50 years after their mystery disappearance shocked the nation.
A crack Army unit using high-tech drones will begin the painstaking search on on Monday on land which was once owned by William MacDowell – the 80-year-old who was convicted in 2022 of the ‘premeditated executions’ of the tragic pair.
Specialist units from the Royal Engineers were called in after historic surveys of the site, which spans several acres, revealed evidence of ‘disturbed ground’ dating back to the time of Renee and three-year-old Andrew’s disappearance.
A police forensics team have been primed to carry out digs at various points around MacDowell’s old property the following week, with relatives of the mother and son informed about the latest developments by officers.
Last night a source close to the police inquiry described the new probe as a ‘very exciting development.’
It is understood Dr Alastair Ruffell from Queens University in Belfast, an expert in geoforensic searches, will also be on site to help in the hunt for the bodies of Renee, 36 and Andrew, who were callously murdered by MacDowell in 1976.
MacDowell was only convicted of their killings in 2022 at the age of 80 and died less than five months into his prison sentence, going to his grave without revealing what he had done with his victims’ remains.
Renee MacRae and her young son Andrew were murdered in 1976
Police and the army will now search land previously owned by William MacDowell in Nairnside, near Inverness, in the hope of finally discovering their remains
The latest search will take place over two days in the Highlands, focussing on land near Inverness once owned by MacDowell when he lived in the area with his wife Rosemary. The couple later moved to Cumbria.
The murderer had been having an affair with Renee for several years and brutally killed her, and their toddler son, in a layby on the A9 near Dalmagarry, south of Inverness, on November 12, 1976.
Renee was separated from her husband Gordon, the boss of a successful Inverness building firm and had been seeing MacDowell, who worked as the company secretary. Within a year of the affair starting, she had fallen pregnant.
By the time their son Andrew was three years old, MacDowell convinced his lover he had found a job in Shetland and they would move there as a family, despite having no intention of doing so.
They had planned to spend the weekend before the move in a chalet in Perthshire, which would give MacDowell a chance to get to know his son.
But his claims were a ruse to lure the pair to their deaths, and they were never seen again.
Renee’s BMW car was found burnt out in the A9 layby, with a spot of her blood in the boot becoming the last known trace of the loving mother of two.
Renee’s sister Morag Govans, a retired nurse from Inverness, had urged MacDowell to reveal where her nephew and sister were upon his conviction, and said if he had ‘any shred of decency’ he would explain what he had done with their bodies.
William and Rosemary MacDowell outside their home near Inverness in 1976
Members of the Royal Engineers have been called in to help in the search using drones
Police Scotland’s Brian Geddes previously vowed never to give up the hunt for the mother and son’s bodies, with the investigation focussing on a cottage’ where MacDowell had told a witness he hoped would never be found or he would be ‘done for’.
DS Geddes and his team were reviewing all information about the area around McDowell’s former home, including looking at old aerial images and photographs.
It is understood that historic surveys of the site, which spans several acres, have revealed previously disturbed ground dating back to the time of Renee and Andrew’s disappearance.
Now the army’s Sappers have been tasked with helping to find the pair’s remains and will launch a fleet of drones tomorrow and Tuesday to search the area before deciding on whether to break ground and start digging.
The Royal Engineers are specialist soldiers, trained for combat but with unique engineering skills. Those deployed to find the MacRaes are believed the have expertise in geospatial analysis and ground techniques – using maps and aerial footage of an area taken over time to spot potential differences in how the land and soil really looks compared to how it would be expected to look.
Since MacDowell’s conviction in 2022, officers have been investigating the soil on the farmland and analysing old aerial images of the site near MacDowell’s former home. It is these investigations that have led them to believe Renee and Andrew may be buried there, after detecting areas of potentially disturbed ground.
William and Rosemary MacDowell arrive at court in 2022
Neighbours living nearby the house have been warned to expect police activity and drones this week, with the potential for further activity next week depending on the results.
It is part of Operation Abermule, the latest investigation into the mother and son’s murder, with similar probes launched in 1986, 2004 and 2018.
In 2019 teams drained Leanach quarry in Culloden as they believed evidence had been concealed there. Wheels from a pushchair, similar to the Silver Cross one Andrew had, were discovered along with bones, later confirmed to be animal remains.
More than 100,000 tonnes of earth, silt and other material was removed from the site and 5000 tonnes of the material was forensically searched but the mother and son were not found.
Detective Superintendent Brian Geddes said: “Our investigation into the murders of Renee and Andrew MacRae remains ongoing and officers continue to examine all available lines of investigation.”
