UK UK - Moira Anderson, 11, Coatbridge, Scotland, Feb 1957

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http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/DNA-inquiry---39could.5077830.jp

17 March 2009

COLD-case detectives investigating the discovery of a body in a field have requested DNA samples from the relatives of missing Scots schoolgirl Moira Anderson, The Scotsman has learned.
Police have launched a review of a murder dating back to August 1974, involving the death of a young woman who was found in a field in Cockley Cley, Norfolk.
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Moira's case is well known here even after over 50 years and now it looks like a grave will be exhumed to see if Moira is there, underneath the coffin of a man. Could Moira be found after all these years? I truly hope so for her family who have never stopped keeping her case in the public eye...

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/3427649/Grave-bid-in-search-for-Moira.html

Grave bid in search for Moira

Published: 23 Feb 2011
THE family of a missing schoolgirl will today find out if they can exhume a grave thought to hold her body - 54 YEARS after her suspected murder.

Moira Anderson's loved ones are expected to get the go-ahead from Crown Office officials to dig up the plot after relatives of others buried there gave their blessing.

...
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D-Day on grave dig to find girl

The family of a missing girl will today find out if they can exhume a grave thought to hold her body more than 50 years after her suspected murder.

[snip]

It is thought the 11-year-old’s body was hidden in the grave under a man’s coffin.

[snip]

The prime suspect in her murder was child rapist Alexander Gartshore, a bus driver near her hometown of Coatbridge, who died five years ago. But Moira’s family have never given up looking for her.

More: http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/editor-s-picks/d-day-on-grave-dig-to-find-girl-1.1086803
 
Does anyone know if permission was officially granted to exhume the grave and whether a positive identification was made? I looked around for news articles but all I saw was articles leading up to the decision with nothing mentioning the outcome. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places? :waitasec:
 
I'm still searching, and have found no update, so I assume it has not been done yet. I did see this news article that had more detail than others.

You would think this:

Tests are already understood to have revealed an unknown body may be located within a plot among three coffins - one of which was buried there just weeks after Moira vanished.
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...would be sufficient reason to approve the exhumation. Although from what the article said, it sounds like the fact that the family used a psychic is making it harder for them to work through the legal process (if I read that correctly). Which is really sad because there seems to be some solid evidence that the location needs checked out, regardless of whether a psychic was involved or not.

Of course it sounds like the process requires many clearances and approvals, so maybe it's still in the works. That article was over two years ago, though, so to me that should have been sufficient time to get the paper work in order and find out if this poor little girl is where many seem to think she is.
 
Very interesting case, and very curious, too, that the last pair of articles I found took the story to the verge of their gaining permission - it was to be announced the next day, and then - nothing. I would have expected word at least to be on Sandra Brown's Moira Anderson Foundation site. Has left me scratching my head and wonder if I've missed something. (Entirely possible!)
 
wfgodot said:
Very interesting case, and very curious, too, that the last pair of articles I found took the story to the verge of their gaining permission - it was to be announced the next day, and then - nothing. I would have expected word at least to be on Sandra Brown's Moira Anderson Foundation site. Has left me scratching my head and wonder if I've missed something. (Entirely possible!)
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My sentiment exactly. I thought if there was an update it would have been on the Moira Anderson Foundation website at the very least. :waitasec:
 
Grifynne said:
My sentiment exactly. I thought if there was an update it would have been on the Moira Anderson Foundation website at the very least. :waitasec:
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I wonder what could account for that. It's as if the seeking permission thing never happened. Whilst googling around and finding nothing after those day-before articles, I felt as if I'd stepped into another dimension or something, I wasn't quite sure if I had indeed read what I'd read, lol. The next day I went back and checked on them again!

If they were denied permission, surely they'd print that, and permission was, according to the earlier articles, practically guaranteed, it sounded. And if they had gotten it, well, we'd have an answer by now. Surely. Maybe. Could it be a legal thing?
 
wfgodot said:
Could it be a legal thing?
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Do you mean a legal thing that stopped them from exhuming the grave or a legal thing that did not permit them to publish the results? I would think in either case, something like that would have been mentioned. One article mentioned that many clearances were needed, but then another said it was pretty much already a sure thing.

Just like you said, the articles seemed so enthusiastic about the prospect of solving the mystery and finding out where Moira Anderson is then, abruptly, nothing. It sure sounded to me like they were on the verge.

I just submitted an email to the address provided on the Moira Anderson Foundation website asking if someone can provide an update or suggest other resources that might shed some light on the situation. Not sure if I will get a response, but I figured I would try.
 
Well I received a response from a Margaret (her title is receptionist/clerical officer for the Moira Anderson Foundation) and she said:

Hello,

I can tell you that the body has not yet been found and we haven't heard anything about the exhumation. have you visited our website? worth a look. www.moiraanderson.org

Margaret
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So it is still a mystery. I wonder if something got in the way of the exhumation and media outlets didn't find it interesting enough to cover? Although you would think they would since a bit of controversy sometimes sells.
 
Grifynne said:
So it is still a mystery. I wonder if something got in the way of the exhumation and media outlets didn't find it interesting enough to cover? Although you would think they would since a bit of controversy sometimes sells.
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Thanks for doing so and a bit of a mystery it remains. Something must have gone askew in the intervening day between the articles and the exhumation. And agreed, a story like this might - would - help draw page views, certainly, increase traffic, aid them in their mission. Curiouser and curiouser.
 
No problem. I wonder if any of the news outlets that reported on the story before would have any information on an update? I would have assumed that there would have been a follow up since they were on the verge of approval (if that wording was accurate).
 
http://www.scotsman.com/scotland-on-sunday/scotland/cold-case-team-hunt-for-schoolgirl-moira-anderson-s-body-55-years-on-1-2425724

Cold case team hunt for schoolgirl Moira Anderson’s body 55 years on



By RORY REYNOLDS
Published on Sunday 22 July 2012 00:00

DETECTIVES are to reinvestigate the disappearance of a schoolgirl more than 55 years ago in a case being treated as murder for the first time.

Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland has instructed a cold case team to look into the death of Moira Anderson, who vanished in a blizzard in February 1957.

Campaigners claim Moira was buried in a freshly dug grave by the bus driver who was linked to the mystery. Her family are now planning to petition a Scottish court to gain permission for the contents of the burial site to be exhumed in the search for her remains.

Moira, 11, had left her home in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, and taken a bus to the local shops but was never seen again. Driver Alexander Gartshore was the last person to see her alive after she boarded his bus.

He was imprisoned for raping a 12-year-old babysitter two months later and though arrested in 1993 over Moira’s disappearance, was released due to lack of evidence.

....
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More news on this latest update at the link above...
 
Thanks for posting the video cusesleuth. Such a sad story. I've read about this case but the video really brought it to life. It certainly sounds like they know who killed her weather the police believe it or not.
 
I know this is old news but has anyone seen this?

Documents relating to the disappearance of a schoolgirl nearly 50 years ago will not be released following a decision by the Scottish Freedom of Information Commissioner.

Documents relating to the disappearance of a schoolgirl nearly 50 years ago will not be released following a decision by the Scottish Freedom of Information Commissioner.

The youngster went missing in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, in 1957, after going on a shopping errand.

Moira's body has never been found but many believe she was abducted and murdered.

The documents are believed to contain a confession by James Gallogley, claiming that his former friend Alex Gartshore had killed the girl before dumping her body in a spot called Tarry Burn.

The ruling of the commissioner is expected to influence future decisions not to release material from unsolved cases. He said he could not release the sensitive personal information contained in private police statements.

Sandra Brown, Gartshore's daughter, has stated that she believes her father murdered Moira, and backed the calls for disclosure.
 
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