Missing woman's home investigated

Police are carrying out investigations at Anne Brown's home

Forensic experts have been carrying out investigations at the home of Anne Brown who went missing a week ago.

A murder inquiry was launched after human remains were discovered in a burn in East Ayrshire on Friday during the search for the 51-year-old grandmother.

Detectives have yet to identify the female remains, and could not confirm how long they had been in the water.

Ms Brown was last seen on 18 October leaving her mother's home in Ayrshire with her grandson, who has been traced.

On Friday police said the 20-month-old toddler, John, had been located and was with his 21-year-old mother.

They did not say how he had been found or where he had been since a week past Saturday.

Car found

Detectives have been carrying out investigations at Anne Brown's house in Laigh Green, Burnhouse, Ayrshire. Officers were also examining the garden and surrounding area.

Det Ch Insp Peter McPike, of Strathclyde Police, has said they were also working to establish the identity of the woman found in the burn.

Ms Brown and her grandson had gone missing over a week ago

"This is a complex investigation and our enquiries are at a very early stage," he said.

"It is important to stress that given that the identity of the dead woman has not been confirmed, what we are able to discuss at this time is strictly limited. We are, however, confident that we will achieve a positive outcome to this investigation."

Police came across the remains on farmland near Dunlop, while looking for Ms Brown.

The farm is close to a stretch of the A735 where Mrs Brown's Ford Focus was spotted in the early hours of the morning on 19 October.

The car had been reported to the police because it was blocking the road.

Officers appealed for anybody who noticed anything suspicious in the area in the past week to 10 days to contact them.