Fresh move to trace final movements of ‘Betty’ Brown

Elizabeth “Betty” Brown, 56, was last seen alive on May 28, 2010 on a bus on Nicolson Street in the city.

It is believed she was murdered and her remains were found on January 18, 2011, in a quarry in a wooded area wooded area between Longtown and Gretna.

Cumbria Police said her death was suspicious, but last year admitted they had no fresh leads despite appeals and her case being featured on BBC’s Crimewatch .

Detective Chief Inspector Jeff Ashton, leading the investigation, promised Mrs Brown’s family at that time that the inquiry into her death would “never close”.

But he said they were no closer to discovering how the care worker died or how her body came to be in woodland close to the A6071.

With another year having passed, the police are now asking again for anyone with information to contact them.

Mrs Brown is thought to have travelled on the X95 bus from Edinburgh to either Gretna or Cumbria. In last year’s appeal, Det Ch Insp Ashton said: “In all my experience as a detective this points to a really suspicious death, whether that be murder or manslaughter.

“It is highly unlikely that she went there and did whatever she had to do and died in that location on her own.

“We are still receiving the odd call, but in reality there is nothing out there that is exciting about getting to the root cause of what happened to her.

“But I can promise the family that this case will never close. Forensic science also moves on and in a year or so we may still be able to get something from this.”

In an earlier appeal her daughter, Sarah Smith, 25, who lives in Gretna, said: “I just want anyone who might have seen her to contact the police. They might be too scared to come forward but I would urge them to pluck up the courage and go to the phone.

“We have had a funeral for her, but the family needs some closure as to what happened.

“We were hoping for a better response from the Crimewatch appeal but it didn’t happen.”