Documents relating to unsolved case could be released under FOI

Documents relating to unsolved case could be released under FOI

Documents relating to the disappearance of a schoolgirl nearly 50 years ago could soon be released under Freedom of Information laws. Kevin Dunion, the Scottish Information Commissioner, has received a request to release documents relating to the unsolved case of 11-year-old Moira Anderson.

The youngster went missing from her home in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, in February 1957, while running an errand for her grandmother. Her body has never been found, but family and friends are convinced she was abducted and murdered.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Information Commission said a decision on whether the documents should be released would be made shortly but could not confirm reports that the papers included a detailed description of the girl's death.

The document being considered described how the schoolgirl was sedated and sexually abused before being dumped in a burn. It is also reported that the document named members of an alleged paedophile ring, including senior police officers and members of the Crown Office and former Scottish Office.

Documents may unravel mystery of missing girl (Scotland on Sunday, 24 September 2006)

Moira documents could be released (BBC news website, 23 September 2006)