Police Scotland confirmed with the Record an item was recovered from the location on March 13 and is currently being examined.
News Gemma Ryder Reporter 14:21, 25 Mar 2025
New evidence connected to murdered mum Renee MacRae and her young son Andrew has reportedly been discovered by workers on the A9 and removed by detectives to investigate.
Sources told Highland News and Media (HNM) a child’s potty and a length of carpet were found a mile south of the A9 Dalmagarry layby, where their BMW car was found on fire almost 50 years ago, while excavation work was carried out as part of Balfour Beatty's £185 million dualling contract.
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Police Scotland has since confirmed with the Record an item was recovered from the location on March 13 and is currently being examined.
Renee MacRae was 36 when she was last seen with three-year-old Andrew leaving their Inverness home on November 12, 1976. Their bodies have never been found.
More than 40 years later, William MacDowell was found guilty of murdering Renee and Andrew in 2022. But the evil killer passed away in February 2023 at the age of 80 - without revealing what he had done with their bodies.
Detectives have never given up looking for Renee and Andrew's remains and have carried out extensive investigations into the five-decade long mystery.
Officers gave road workers and contractors a briefing earlier this month about potential evidence still missing, such as a suitcase, pushchair, coat and a yellow child’s potty.
The source told HNM: "Police Scotland were at the site a couple of weeks ago to remind the workforce that the Renee and Andrew MacRae murder was still an ongoing investigation.
“Right now, there is work being undertaken on the A9 about a quarter of a mile from Dalmagarry Quarry.
“They sent an email with a list of things that, if found, they were to be alerted to - a suitcase, a pushchair, a coat and a yellow child’s potty, things like that.
“The police email was read out to all the roads crew at their morning briefing.
“Three or four days later, some of the boys there found a child’s potty. The potty had a yellow base.
“Police officers came some time later and removed the potty and a piece of rolled up carpet.
“Bear in mind, a lot of the site has been overgrown for many years. All the trees are getting lifted, there is lots of digging work, overgrown bits are getting raked out.
“The potty and the carpet were lying in dense undergrowth and not buried to my knowledge. The carpet was rolled up.
“I understand the police have asked Balfour Beatty to be alerted if and when any more digging work is to be done in that location.
“There is actually a water main going through there as part of the job. The police have asked to be contacted before they start digging for that.”
In 2018 Police Scotland re-opened the cold case to try and solve the mystery. A year later Renee’s ex-lover MacDowell was arrested.
It's believed the father-of-two feared his affair was about to be exposed and his marriage and his career put at risk. MacDowell had been working as company secretary for Renee’s estranged husband Gordon at the time.
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A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On Thursday, 13 March, 2025, officers attended the A9 near Dalmagarry after an item was recovered. The item is being examined and further enquiries are ongoing.”
Anyone who believes they can assist police is asked to contact 101 or you can email SCDHOLMESInverness@scotland.police.uk. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
