Could childs potty found near quarry be linked to the murder of a mother and her toddler son 49 years ago?

Police investigating the murders of a mother and toddler almost half-a-century ago have confirmed an item believed to be a ‘child’s potty’ has been found close to where their burning car was discovered on the night they vanished.

The bodies of Renee MacRae and her three-year-old son Andrew have never been found after they disappeared on November 12, 1976, sparking one of Scotland’s longest-running missing persons inquiries.

A BMW belonging to 36-year-old Mrs MacRae was found on fire in a lay-by near Dalmagarry Quarry, south of Inverness, but there was no sign of her and her young son.

Her lover William MacDowell – Andrew’s father – was finally convicted of their murders and trying to defeat justice by dumping their bodies, three years ago, aged 81.

But he died in jail five months later without revealing the location of their remains.

Police Scotland has now confirmed that officers are examining an item found near the quarry at the centre of investigations into the 49-year-old murders.

A spokesman said: ‘On Thursday, 13 March, 2025, officers attended the A9 near Dalmagarry after an item was recovered. 

The item is being examined and further inquiries are ongoing.’

Neither Renee MacRae nor her son Andrew were seen again after they disappeared in 1976

A BMW belonging to 36-year-old Mrs MacRae was found on fire in a lay-by near Dalmagarry Quarry, south of Inverness, but there was no sign of her and her young son

Three-year-old Andrew MacRae disappeared with his mother Renee MacRae after leaving their home near Inverness on November 12 1976.

It is understood a potty along with a ‘length of rolled-up carpet’ were uncovered by workmen carrying out improvements to the A9 less than a mile south of the lay-by where Mrs MacRae’s vehicle was found.

A source told the Strathspey Herald newspaper that before work began detectives gave contractors a list of items of possible evidence to look out for.

The list is understood to have been relayed to workmen at a routine morning briefing.

The source close to Balfour Beatty, which was awarded a £185million contract for major dualling work on the A9, told the paper that workers ‘found the yellow potty and length of carpet nearby each other in dense undergrowth about ten days ago’.

They said police visited the site earlier this month to remind workers that the murders were still ‘an ongoing investigation’.

The source said: ‘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. 

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.’

Mrs MacRaes lover William MacDowell was finally convicted of their murders and trying to defeat justice by dumping their bodies, three years ago, aged 81. But he died in jail five months later without revealing the location of their remains

Area close to Dalmagarry quarry where workmen clearing trees for the A9 upgrade found a childs potty and a piece of carpet

After MacDowell died, Detective Chief Inspector Brian Geddes said the search for the bodies would continue, ‘in order to provide Renee and Andrew with the dignity they deserve’.

Since the discovery of Mrs MacRae’s car with a blood stain in the boot, speculation about the whereabouts of the bodies has focused on the A9 – which was being rebuilt at the time – and Dalmagarry Quarry, which was drained in 2019 with no trace of remains found.

Mrs MacRae had set off from her Inverness home and dropped off her eldest son at the home of estranged husband Gordon. 

She then went with Andrew, apparently to meet MacDowell, an accountant in her husband’s building firm. That was the last time the pair were seen alive.

It was claimed in court MacDowell, a married father of two, had feared his affair with Mrs MacRae was about to be exposed.

Balfour Beatty refused to comment.