Dundee police carry out forensic tests after body discovery

Published on Thursday 11 March 2010 10:27

FORENSIC searches around the scene where Mary McLaren's body was found continued today as police tried to establish how the missing Dundee mother died.

• Forensic experts carry out tests near where Mary McLaren's body was found

The 34-year-old was last seen in Marketgait near to its junction with King Street at around 3am on February 25 with a man she met at the Fat Sams nightclub in the city.

After issuing CCTV stills from Ms McLaren's night out, officers traced

a man seen dancing with her before she disappeared.

He has been remanded in custody in connection with an unrelated alleged offence involving a different police force.

Tayside Police said the man was still helping with their inquiries.

Detective Chief Inspector Shaun McKillop of Tayside Police said: "My priority at the moment is to establish cause of death.

"In order to do this, a detailed and meticulous search of the area where the body has been found will be carried out. We also need to have the body medically and forensically examined.

"Since Mary was first reported missing we've had two police family liaison officers working closely with her family keeping them informed on the progress of the enquiry."

Ms McLaren, 34, had been on a night out with her sister and was

wearing a black-and-white leopard print dress, black leggings, a white duffel coat and flat black shoes.

She was also carrying a black handbag, a pink floral umbrella and a pink inflatable adult toy.

Police have called off the search for the mother-of-three and are treating the death as suspicious.

A post-mortem will be carried out to formally identify the body and establish the cause of death.