Police Scotland find bone and pushchair-style wheels in Leanach Quarry near Inverness in search for bodies of Renee and Andrew MacRae
Wheels similar to those on the pushchair owned by missing Inverness woman Renee MacRae have been found in the local quarry that has been the focus of a new search for the remains of the mother and her three-year-old son Andrew.
Bones have also been found in the Leanach Quarry near Culloden it has been reported.
Police said today that items found in the quarry they drained merit further examination.
Detective Inspector Brian Geddes who is leading the inquiry was responding to a national newspaper report that bones and parts of a pushchair had been found in Leanach Quarry not far from Culloden.
Police did not challenge the accuracy of the report.
Det Insp Geddes said: "As part of the search operation at Leanach Quarry numerous items have been found to date, many of which have warranted further research and examination.
"Meticulous analysis is now ongoing to establish if any of these items would be relevant to the investigation into the murders of Renee and Andrew MacRae."
The wheels will be subject to the same meticulous research and examination to establish if they are relevant to the investigation, he added.
Mrs MacRae and her son went missing more than 40 years ago after her BMW was found partially burned in an A9 layby at Dalmagarry south of the city. A small amount of blood was found in the car.
The married mother and Andrew, have never been found and no one has been charged in connection with their deaths, which are being treated as murder by police.
Mrs MacRae was estranged from her husband Gordon, a director of a local building firm, and it emerged she had told a friend that on the night in question she was meeting her lover, Bill McDowell, who worked in her husband’s company.
Police are confident that the mystery will be solved once they have sifted through the mud and silt of Leanach quarry at Culloden. More than 13 million litres of water has been pumped from the flooded quarry and officers and forensic anthropologists are examining items.
