The anguished mother of a Perthshire man whose final resting place has remained a mystery for more than a decade is praying that the discovery of human remains will finally help her move on with her life.
For 13 years Tricia Bremner has fought to reveal what truly happened to son Adam Alexander following his disappearance in 1999.
She has lived with the fact he was killed and buried in the Carse of Gowrie and has endured a series of fruitless searches for his body.
Now, the dramatic discovery of a human left fibula in a field at Muiredge Farm, near Errol, at around 1pm on Tuesday may finally solve the mystery.
Mrs Bremner spoke of her mixed emotions, as relief battled with the flow of tears and the resurgence of grief.
“You cry and you ask yourself has it really happened?” she said. “Is this the last time I will have to go through this?
“I still have to wait on forensic evidence to find out for certain whether it is Adam’s body that they have found. I am still hanging by a thread waiting for that final confirmation.
“I find myself hoping and praying, in a way, that it is Adam and that I can start to think about moving on.”
Mrs Bremner continued: “I have never forgotten my promise to my son to find him. I didn’t want to fail him.”
It was years after Mr Alexander’s disappearance before it emerged he had been killed following a row with Scone businessman Thomas Pryde.
Pryde had attacked him with a metal pole. Although he later told his then wife, Angela, that he had “done a terrible thing”, the crime only came to light when the couple split up and she finally approached the police.
The businessman was subsequently jailed for 10 years at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2010 for culpable homicide, having admitted attacking Mr Alexander and then burying his body in a field near Errol Brickworks.
Numerous searches for Mr Alexander’s body were unsuccessful, leaving Mrs Bremner’s emotions in turmoil.
Tuesday’s find has brought her some hope that there could finally be a measure of relief.