Body found in hunt for missing mum-of-three

A BODY found in bushes in the centre of Dundee was thought to be missing mum Mary McLaren.

Forensics work continued today after the body was found in the undergrowth during a police search.

Det Ch Insp Shaun McKillop, of Tayside Police, said: “The indications at this time are that it may be Mary.”

A post mortem was to be carried out to establish the cause of death.

Ms McLaren, 34, was last seen on February 25 after a visit to Fat Sams nightclub in Dundee with her sister. The mother-of-three was also spotted in Marketgait near to its junction with King Street at around 3am with a man she met at the club.

At around 3pm yesterday officers from Tayside Police found a woman’s body in undergrowth on an embankment to the north of Ladywell roundabout in Dundee city centre.

Det Ch Insp McKillop said: “Police search teams were operating in that area and a police officer within those search teams located the body at that time.

“We have two family liaison officers who are working closely with Mary McLaren’s family and the indications at this time are that it may be Mary.

“Clearly this is an early stage of the inquiry. There’s a lot of forensic work to be done.”

After issuing CCTV stills from Ms McLaren’s night out, officers traced a man seen dancing with her before she disappeared.

Police said the man was still helping with their inquiries.

A planned reconstruction of Ms McLaren’s movements was cancelled after the find.