Progress in draining pit with Police now sifting clues to 40-year mystery

Detectives investigating the disappearance of Renee MacRae and her son Andrew back in 1976 have now completed work to drain Leanach Quarry.

The site on the outskirts of Inverness has seen an estimated 13 million litres of water pumped out, with tonnes of silt and debris now be removed and taken to away to be analysed by a team of 16 forensic experts.

Police are treating the case as a murder inquiry with detectives still optimistic of cracking the case more than 40 years on.

DI Brian Geddes said: "Pumping the water clear was a huge challenge, but we have made fantastic progress in a very short time"

"Of all the locations, this is the key one" - DI Brian Geddes

"I want to reassure the family and friends of Renee and Andrew that we will not be leaving here until every last inch is searched."

"Of all the locations, this is the key one. We've had a good response since our initial appeal for information and I would expect that to continue"

As well as rocks and boulders - as to be expected with a quarry - there's a lot of other organic material as well as rubber tyres, but DI Geddes wouldn't detail the items retreieved so far.

"The first load that left here (Leanach Quarry) there were real challenges in terms of the rocks and boulders"

"We will review how many personel we require to carry out the search as need be"

"The rest of the material will be fingertip searched"

As well as the forensic team, supported by personnel from Dundee and Aberdeen, there is also a team of 10 who are handling witness statements, with estamates of 125 people they wish to speak to.

One witness has already been contacted abroad in Spain, but the majority of them are based in the Highlands