With £10,000 already banked, a fresh bid to raise funds for Tayside Police rescue dogs has been launched in Perth by the mother of a man whose body has been missing for over a decade.
Trisha Bremner remains steadfast in her conviction that her son, Adam Alexander, could have been found had such dogs been present in 1999 when he disappeared.
In a bid to salvage something from her desperate plight as the years passed with no sign of him, Trisha threw herself into collecting cash for the police to purchase and train the specialist canines.
She has reopened her charity shop, Light Our Way, at 62 Scott Street and is planning a host of fresh fund-raising ideas.
She said, “We raised £10,000 from the shop and other things last year and I’ve now handed that over to the police. I believe it costs something like £5000 to buy and train a dog so I’m hoping to raise the same, or more, this year.
“This is entirely voluntary and the money is donated so it doesn’t come out of the police budget because I know that is used for other things.
“Every second counts when someone goes missing, but the last time Tayside Police needed them (the search for missing Dundee schoolgirl, Michaela Hunter), the rescue dogs had to be brought up from Wales.
“That obviously cost money and time and in such cases neither is really available. In that case, they weren’t even needed in the end.
“By having their own dogs here in Tayside, the police have them on the spot if something happens, and it could save lives because every second is precious.”GratefulA spokeswoman for Tayside Police confirmed the cash will be used for a new project.
She said, “We are extremely grateful to Mrs Bremner for her substantial donation towards the Tayside Police dog section.
“We are currently exploring a variety of options before deciding what we spend the money on.
“One thing is for sure it won’t be used to fund existing work. It will be used to add to our capacity and skills.
“We are looking at additional training for dogs and their handlers to carry out further specialist roles for searching and detection. This will be a real benefit to policing in Tayside.”
Donations to Trisha’s shop can be made at the premises or by calling her on 07947 347506.
Mr Alexander was killed late in 1999 during a dispute with local businessman, Thomas Pryde.
Mr Alexander’s disappearance prompted a massive and prolonged missing person inquiry before new evidence turned it into a murder probe. His body has never been found.