Mary McLaren: body found in case of missing woman
Detectives are carrying out forensic work after a body was found during a search for missing mother.
Mary McLaren, 34, was last seen on February 25 after a visit to Fat Sam's nightclub in Dundee with her sister.
She was seen in Marketgait near to its junction with King Street at around 3am with a man she met at the club. On Wednesday, a body was found just 500 yards away, near to a police station. Tayside Police says formal identification has not yet been made but they suspect it is Ms McLaren.
The discovery was made in undergrowth on an embankment to the north of Ladywell roundabout in the city centre at around 3pm on Wednesday. Police cordoned off the area to allow an examination of the scene. A post mortem examination will be carried out to establish the cause of death.
The body remains in situ on Thursday morning as forensic teams carry out their investigations. Police have told STV News that the death appears to be "suspicious".
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On Wednesday night, Detective Chief Inspector Shaun McKillop, of Tayside Police, told STV News the body may be that of Ms McLaren.
He said: "Police search teams were operating in that area and a police officer within those search teams located the body at that time. We have two family liaison officers who are working closely with Mary McLaren's family and the indications at this time is that it may be Mary. Clearly this is an early stage of the inquiry. There's a lot of forensic work to be done.
"I would urge the patience of the Dundee public because Marketgait going eastbound is going to be closed for the foreseeable future, probably for the next 24 hours."
After issuing CCTV stills from Ms McLaren's night out, officers traced a man seen dancing with her before she disappeared. Tayside Police said yesterday the man was still helping with their inquiries. He has been remanded in custody for an unrelated offence in a different police force area.
A reconstruction of Ms McLaren's movements on the night she disappeared, which was due to be staged last night, was cancelled following the discovery of the body.
