DNA solves loch riddle

Larry Battles is thought to have fallen overboard on the loch

The mysterious disappearance of a US serviceman in Scotland 35 years ago has been solved by forensic experts at Glasgow University.

Larry Claude Battles, an 18-year-old sailor from Alabama, was reported missing while on duty at the the US naval base on the Holy Loch in Dunoon.

He was believed to have fallen overboard from the USS Hunley and despite an extensive search, his body was never found.

DNA tests were carried out on the bones

At the end of February and in early March, Ministry of Defence salvage experts clearing the floor of the loch of debris left by the departing US navy recovered human bones.

The remains were sent to Glasgow University for DNA testing, where it was established they belonged to a man in his late teens or early 20s.

After a process of elimination involving missing people reported in the area of the Holy Loch and blood samples obtained from relatives, they have now been identified as being Seaman Larry Battles.

The underwater debris is a legacy from the days when the Holy Loch housed a United States Navy submarine base.

The skills of the experts at Glasgow and Strathclyde universities have also been sought in connection with the investigation into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and mass murders in Kosovo.