The sisters of a Scots army cadet feared murdered after vanishing on exercise more than 30 years ago have launched their own campaign to find the truth.
Denise and Christine Rae say they are “not being listened to” over claims 18-year-old Alan Rae, from Ayr, may have come to harm after vanishing from the Strone training camp in Garelochhead, Argyll and Bute, on March 2, 1989.
Denise believes their little brother was killed and his death “covered up”.
And while Christine also fears the worst, she says she still “has hope” he could be alive.
Last year Denise, 51, begged CID to open a murder probe, telling the Daily Record that new, anonymous information suggested foul play.
Now she and Christine, 52, have gone it alone with a fresh appeal for information and will travel to key spots in the enquiry to hand out 10,000 new flyers with the help of a charity.
Denise said: “Alan would be 50 now. I don’t believe he ever left that camp. If he had he would have come home to us.
“I think the whole camp is covering up what happened to him and we want answers,
“We feel as if nobody is listening to us.”
Alan was a new Territorial Army recruit with the Royal Highland Fusiliers when he vanished two days into the 10-day training camp.
Reports suggested he gad gone to a disco in Helensburgh the night he disappeared and an argument broke out because he was talking to a local girl.
His parents were told he left to walk back to camp alone but never made it back.
It was suggested Alan may have fallen into the Holy Loch and drowned but, despite extensive multi-agency land and water searches, he was never found.
One year after his disappearance, Alan’s wallet was recovered from the beach near the loch but forensic analysis concluded it had never been immersed in water.
And Denise says she received a message after making an appeal on social media from a man who claimed he had found the wallet at the camp.
She said: “I went onto Facebook and saw a status from someone saying they found Alan’s wallet. He said they found it in the billet, where they stayed inside that camp. But we were told it was found on the shore.
“I also got a phone call from someone saying they were a guy from the army and couldn’t tell me their name. He said ‘I think something has gone seriously wrong and we always stick up for our own’.”
Denise had previously received reports through a friend that Alan had been “murdered and buried along the A814”.
She was also given what she was told was the “last picture” of Alan in a pub before he vanished, by a source who said the cadet was being “taunted”.
The sisters feel compelled to find answers for their parents, who died within a week of each other in 2017 - 17 years after their other son Sammy died aged 26.
Denise said: “I still remember Alan leaving my mum and dad’s house to go to the TA base in Ayr, where he left for the trip.
“I remember him walking out and he was in such a great mood. He was athletic and loved all of the TA stuff. He said ‘I’ll see you when I get back’.
“He was a strong but quiet boy.
“We feel the police have turned their backs on us from day one. I feel as if they’re not listening at all.
“I want answers from the camp too.
“We’ve printed 10,000 flyers. We plan to get them all around Ayr and Garelochhead. We’ve got tshirts printed and want to make a big banner. The charity have helped us all the way.”
Christine has travelled from her home in Nottingham to help drive the appeal over the coming weeks, including visiting Helensburgh.
She said: “Every possibility goes through your mind. Alan always said to me, ‘if I go away, I’m not coming back’. I like to think he’s still out there because of what he said.
“I’d love to see him again. I don’t think it’s going to happen but I’ve always had hope.
“There are different stories about what happened that night and we just want closure.
“I don’t think enough was done back then to find the answers. It was brushed under the carpet.
“Somebody knows something and maybe they’re too afraid to say something, but if it was their family I’m sure they’d feel differently.”
Missing Persons UK and Beyond, a Scottish charity, has been helping the sisters with their case and fund the reappeal.
Joan Grant said: “Sadly there is not enough support out there for families like Denise and Christine’s.
“Some families are going through depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder and so many other things thrown in
“As a charity, we will always be here for the families of missing people.”
Police Scotland said Alan continues to be treated as a missing person.
A spokesman said: “Long term missing people are regularly reviewed for any possible news lines of enquiry.
“Anyone who has any information which could help with enquiries, regardless of the passage of time, is encouraged to pass this on to officers by calling 101.”
An Army spokesman said: “Our thoughts are with the family of Pte Rae.
“We will assist with any investigation into the circumstances around his disappearance.
“As this is an ongoing Police Scotland investigation it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
