The mother of an Errol man whose body has never been found faces a bleak Christmas following the latest abortive search for her son.
Tricia Bremner told The Courier she feels ”deflated” after the search last week for Adam Alexander near Errol Brickworks, which involved help from Professor Sue Black, a forensic anthropologist based at Dundee University.
She is the director of the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification and has worked in war-torn countries such as Iraq, Kosovo and Sierra Leone.
Mr Alexander, a 39-year-old biker, was killed by Thomas Pryde, who later claimed he had buried him in a field near the brickworks in the Carse of Gowrie following a violent confrontation.
Mr Alexander was battered to death with a metal bar but his remains have never been found, despite numerous attempts by the police. He was previously regarded as a missing person after last being seen at his home on November 14, 1999.
Pryde later confessed to his then wife Angela that he had ”done something wrong”. In April 2010 Pryde was jailed for 10 years at Edinburgh High Court for the culpable homicide of Mr Alexander.
Mrs Bremner said on Wednesday that she attended the latest search for her son but she feels ”deflated” and has had ”the stuffing knocked out of her”.
”I was out with the police at this dig near Errol,” she said. ”It’s very difficult as the police have to cover such a large area.
”But somebody must have seen a person in a van or little lorry. They must have seen something going on.
”However, after this dig I felt deflated. I went for a cup of tea at The Horn in Errol and then just drove around the countryside. I was completely lost.”
She added: ”I don’t feel in the Christmas spirit at all. I am crying inside I want to cry, but I can’t. I suffer more pain after each dig. I feel the police are not getting anywhere. I just want to shut the door and disappear.
”Christmas doesn’t mean anything to me now. The police have said they will search again next year but it just builds up your hopes. Then when nothing happens, it knocks the stuffing out of you.”
Mrs Bremner described her son as a ”lost soul” and says Pryde has lied about the location of the body.
”I speak for a lot of people who are victims of crime,” she added. ”The victims are forgotten whilst criminals are treated well. They are fed due to the taxpayer and have human rights.”
Previous digs for Mr Alexander have used radar scans. Detective Chief Superintendent Roddy Ross said that his officers will keep pursuing the search.
”Only last week we were out doing more work on searching for Adam Alexander,” he said. ”This involved profiling some ground and we got a little bit more information.
”We were out with Professor Sue Black’s team in Errol. They are equally as focused on it too but it’s such an enormous area to cover. But we’ll keep plugging away at it.”
And he spoke of the heartache caused to Mr Aleaxnder’s mother.
”It’s absolutely dreadful for her,” he added. ”But Mrs Bremner has been ever-present and she has raised money for police dogs.
”We have to be as methodical as we possibly can and keep plugging away at it. When we come up with a blank we have to rethink everything and consider where we might change our strategy a little bit. We have to document all that and move on again.
”It’s a long process but we have a responsibility and we can’t give up on it. Every New Year that turns you hope it will be that year.”
Mrs Bremner said she would never give up the search for her son.