Police fear missing man may have been murdered

POLICE fear a man who had been missing for seven weeks may have been murdered and his body dumped near a church.

Graeme Ferry, 24, of Bellshill, Lanarkshire, was reported missing after failing to show up for work at a heritage centre on 4 April, and there had been no reported sightings of him since.

Yesterday, officers were searching for his body in isolated woodland next to the Kirk O'Shotts parish church near Salsburgh, in Lanarkshire.

Officers investigating Mr Ferry's disappearance arrived at the historic church on Thursday afternoon and sealed off the road leading to it.

Forensic officers were called to the scene to conduct a search.

Last night, Detective Superintendent John McGovern, of Strathclyde Police's major investigation team, said: "We can now confirm that, as a result of an extensive seven-week police investigation, specialist search teams are now searching for human remains near to Kirk o' Shotts Parish Church.

"The search is at an early stage and we have spoken to Graeme's family about what is happening. They are being supported by family liaison officers.

"It has been established that Graeme was last seen in the Bellshill area in the early hours of Saturday, 2 April, 2011.

"He had been at a party in John Bowman Gardens early Saturday morning and later on, around 5.30am, we know he was still in the Bellshill area as he had telephone contact with a close friend who he had arranged to meet nearby.

"He failed to arrive for the meeting and has not been seen or heard of since.

"I am keen to speak to anyone who has any knowledge of Graeme's movements on that morning, especially with regard to him being in John Bowman Gardens."

A Facebook site has been set up in an effort to trace him and has attracted more than 1,000 posts from wellwishers.

His mother, Janette, 56, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, and was cared for by her son, said last month: "All I want is him to phone me or someone else, but he's not spoken to anyone."