Forensic scientists investigating the early life of Scots serial killer Peter Tobin have been drafted in to search for the body of missing Perthshire man Adam Alexander.
The 39-year-old has never been found despite his killer Thomas Pryde’s assertion he buried him in a field near Errol Brickworks in the Carse of Gowrie after a violent confrontation 11 years ago.
The search for the remains of Mr Alexander who was battered to death with a metal bar had gone cold but was resurrected this month because of advances in underground detection techniques.
Home Office scientific branch and Metropolitan Police officers who helped in the recent probe into Tobin’s former homes in England travelled north to carry out a ground penetration radar (GPR) survey.
The technique found two possible burial sites near where police believed Mr Alexander’s body had been dumped, but excavations found nothing.
Two further plots have been identified and scientists are poring over the GPR findings as they look for other possible locations.
No trace of Mr Alexander was found but Detective Chief Superintendent Roddy Ross said his team had not given up hope.
“My belief is that Adam’s body is in the Carse of Gowrie somewhere but the Carse of Gowrie is a big place,” he said.
Professor Sue Black, of the anatomy and forensic anthropology centre at Dundee University, said her team had helped in the hunt.
She said such cases were “unpredictable” and had to be dealt with on their own merits.
Anyone with information should call the police on 0300 1112222, speak to any officer or speak to Crimestoppers anoymously on 0800 555111.