Fresh hope in Moira Anderson case

There is renewed hope that 2014 could provide answers in the search for missing schoolgirl Moira Anderson, a year on from the grave exhumation that appeared to end all hope of finding her.

While the fruitless exercise was seen as the last roll of the dice by Moira’s sisters and Sandra Brown, who believes her paedophile father Alexander Gartshore killed the Coatbridge youngster in 1957, the publicity surrounding the dig has breathed new life into the case.

Several fresh witnesses have come forward, as well as a potential new location to search for the 11-year-old’s remains.

Sandra Brown said: “There have been some superhuman efforts by the police to join the dots in 2013. They’re treating this case as if it happened last week.

“A number of significant new witnesses have come forward. The police have travelled the length and breadth of the UK to interview and re-interview people. I believe some witnesses have said another location should be looked at.”

Sandra admits there was huge disappointment when it was confirmed that Moira’s remains had not been found in the grave.

“We were gutted the cemetery dig didn’t give us the results we hoped for, but the tsunami of publicity it sparked has reaped results. Now we’re just waiting on an announcement from the Crown Office.”

The publicity has also boosted calls to the Moira Anderson Foundation, the charity set up by Sandra 14 years ago to help victims of child sexual abuse.

Referrals between January and October last year saw an increase over the same period in 2012.

“In the last year the proportion of males we’ve supported has gone up to 26%,” said Sandra. “When we started it was only 3-5%.”

Sandra has also co-written a movie script based on her book, Where There Is Evil, which has grabbed the attention of film companies, and there is talk of a permanent memorial to Moira being erected in Coatbridge later this year.

“I’m entering the New Year with a great deal of optimism about the case,” says Sandra.