him out of the building and nothing was said ever again. More than forty years after the disappearance, further details emerged of a suspect who had fled to the US the day after being interviewed by police. James Taylor claims that his late friend Sandy Thompson, a senior officer who worked closely with MacRae's contacts and had carried out fieldwork investigating the case, had been sure MacRae was murdered and buried on the A9 near a flyover. Taylor reported his concerns to Police Scotland following an appeal for information to mark the forty-year anniversary of the case, claiming that Thomson spoke to a foreman in the roads department who had said someone had dug up a section of the road on the day Renee disappeared. There was one man he spoke to about the road and showed the evidence they had gathered. Taylor recalled: "Sandy said he knew right away when the man looked at it that the woman was dead, that was where she was buried and this man knew far more about it than he was telling." The man fled to the US the next day before returning to Scotland after the case had gone cold. In September 2019, William MacDowell was charged with the murders of Renee and Andrew MacRae and of attempting to pervert the course of justice. In September 2022 he was found guilty of both murders and was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison. See also List of solved missing person cases: pre-2000 Murder of Don Banfield – another high-profile UK no body case Murder of George Murdoch – high-profile unsolved Scottish murder that like the McRae case was featured on the STV programme Unsolved in 2004 Murder of Francis Jegou – high-profile UK unsolved murder also in 1976 References Further reading External links The Scotsman article - A 2004 article on the case, including a picture of Renee MacRae's charred BMW. Renee MacRae's case on The Doe Network A website with newspaper cuttings, maps, and pictures of the excavation of Dalmagarry Quarry Quarry May Hold Key To Renee Mystery - A BBC News article on the reopening of the case The Sunday Herald article - A 2004 article on the case 1970s missing person cases 1976 in Scotlandu 20th century in Inverness Missing person cases in Scotland Missing Scottish children Murder in Scotland November 1976 events in the United Kingdom