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Experts probe loch bones puzzle

The bones were uncovered in a Ministry of Defence salvage team operation to clean up the bed of Holy Loch.

Now experts in Glasgow are using modern genetic testing techniques to try to identify them.

Relatives of five people who vanished in the area will also be contacted by police.

The bones, from a man aged between 18 and 34, were found in March during an operation to remove thousands of tonnes of scrap and other debris from the bed of the loch.

The underwater debris is a legacy from the days when the Holy Loch housed a United States Navy submarine base, and the Ministry of Defence environmental clean-up is expected to continue for three years.

When the clean-up team made the discovery - a small number of bones, including a pelvis, all now known to be from the same human body - they alerted police.

An initial list of 11 people missing in an area known for its boating and fishing accidents has been reduced to five.

Police have called in forensic experts from Glasgow and Strathclyde universities whose skills have also been sought in the investigation into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and in investigating mass murders in Kosovo.

Blood samples

They hope modern DNA testing techniques will identify the bones by matching blood samples from relatives with genetic material from the bones.

Dr Adrian Linacre, of Strathclyde University, said: "The main problem is contamination because it is such a sensitive technique.

"We're looking at tiny limits of DNA, only what's left after maybe 20 years of degradation."

A spokesman for Strathclyde Police said: "It has been a long process and a very difficult process to carry out.

"We have to be very sensitive with the families who have lost someone whose body has never been recovered. We hope to be able to identify the remains as soon as possible."

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University of Strathclyde
University of Glasgow
Strathclyde Police

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