Carefully sifting through the dirt with trowels, this was the scene today as police started a fresh dig in the hunt for Muriel McKay, who was never seen again after being kidnapped and held to ransom 54 years ago.
Around 20 forensic and specialist officers are involved in the operation at Stocking Farm in Hertfordshire, acting on new information provided by one of her killers.
At present it is focused in and around a barn at the site in Stocking Pelham where a manure heap once stood.
Elsewhere on the farm, officers could be seen carrying equipment and blue tents have been set up.
It is the third search of the farm and the Metropolitan Police, who are carrying out the operation in conjunction with Hertfordshire Constabulary, have warned it will be the last attempt to find Mrs McKay.
Police officers searching inside a barn at a Hertfordshire farm for the remains of Muriel McKay
Police have begun a fresh dig for the remains of Muriel McKay, who was murdered
A fresh search is now taking place at the property and sees officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime Command and forensic officers working together with forensic archaeologists and other specialists
Police at Stocking Farm at Stocking Pelham in Hertfordshire where a new search has begun
The 55-year-old vanished on December 29, 1969, after two brothers mistook her for the then wife of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.
Nizamodeen Hosein and his brother Arthur demanded £1 million – the equivalent of £20 million today – for her safe return to Alick McKay, a deputy to Mr Murdoch at News Limited.
There were two botched attempts to pay some of the ransom – believed to be the first incident of its kind in the UK – and Mrs McKay was never seen again.
The Hosein brothers were later caught and sentenced to life for murder in 1970 despite the absence of a body – another gruesome legal first.
Searches took place at the farm around the time of the murder and again two years ago, when ground penetrating radar and specialist forensic archaeologists were used but no body was found.
Arthur died in prison in 2009 and his brother was deported to Trinidad and Tobago after serving his time.
Last December the 76-year-old provided new information about Mrs McKay’s whereabouts after he was visited in his native Trinidad by her daughter Dianne, 84, and grandson Mark Dyer, 59.
He claimed she died from a heart attack after seeing a television appeal from her family.
Police have said they remain concerned about inconsistencies in his account but have started to look in a limited search area.
Police at Stocking Farm at Stocking Pelham in Hertfordshire where they will resume the search for the body of Mrs Muriel McKay
Mrs McKay, 55, (pictured) was actually married to Australian Alick McKay, a deputy to Mr Murdoch, and was held to ransom for £1million by the thugs that kidnapped her
They expect to remain until Friday but could stay longer if significant progress is made.
The fresh search taking place at the property and sees officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime Command and forensic officers working together with forensic archaeologists and other specialists, as well as Hertfordshire Police.
The family campaigned for two years to persuade the Met and the farm’s owners to approve another search of the area.
Mrs McKay’s grandson, Mark Dyer, told BBC Breakfast that it would ‘be a disappointment, but it won’t be unexpected’ if they were unable to find his grandmother’s remains.
He said: ‘It’s difficult not to get anxious and emotional but I’ve got to keep on the straight and narrow.
‘Really, if we don’t find her it will be a disappointment, but it won’t be unexpected.
‘But without searching for something you’re never going to find it… We haven’t dug behind the barn, no one’s ever dug behind the barn.’
The search is expected to take around five days but could be extended, the Met Police said.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime Command and forensic officers working together with forensic archaeologists and other specialists as part of the fresh search
Extensive searches have taken place at the farm in Stocking Pelham, Hertfordshire, where police traced her in 1969
An air exclusion zone will be in place during the dig, with no access to the farm or to a section of public footpath that runs through it.
Trinidadian brothers Nizamodeen and Arthur Hosein were jailed in 1970 over her death in what was one of the first murder convictions without a body.
The decision to search the farm again was made after the investigation team visited Nizamodeen to speak to him in person and interviewed him over three days following his offer to show her family where she was buried.
Detectives visited Nizamodeen in Trinidad and Tobago, where he was deported after serving his 20-year jail sentence, to speak to him in person after his offer to show her family where she was buried. Meanwhile, Arthur died in prison in 2009.
Ms McKay’s daughter Dianne McKay, 84, and grandson Mark, 59, accompanied the police as they were told their mother was buried at the back of the farm.
Mrs McKay’s grandson, Mark Dyer (pictured), told BBC Breakfast that it would ‘be a disappointment, but it won’t be unexpected’ if they were unable to find his grandmother’s remains
The search is expected to take around five days but could be extended, the Met Police said.
Mark, 59, accompanied the police to visit Nizamodeen in Trinidad and Tobago as they were told their mother was buried at the back of the farm.
An air exclusion zone will be in place during the dig, with no access to the farm or to a section of public footpath that runs through it
The area was searched at the time of the murder, and again in 2022, but nothing new was found (Pictured: Police at Stocking Farm on Monday)
In a letter to Ms McKay’s family previously, Detective Superintendent Katherine Goodwin from Scotland Yard said that the operation will be extensive.
It will involve specialist search teams, forensic archaeologists as well as forensic experts and a structural engineer to assess safety issues involving the barn under where it is thought she is buried.
In response, her family wrote: ‘In addition, Nizam has also indicated that he should be at [the farm] to show us where he hid Muriel after she had died.
‘Nizam has a valid passport and the family are happy to arrange flights and accommodation so that he can assist the family and police in finding Muriel. For completeness it makes sense for him to be present as he was the last person to see Muriel alive.’
The farm was searched at the time of the murder and again in 2022, with 30 police officers, ground penetrating radar and specialist forensic archaeologists used but nothing new was found.
Speaking previously, grandson Mr Dyer said he was ‘delighted’ and ‘had to take a deep breath’ when he found out that police would conduct the fresh search.
He said: ‘It’s been an incredible effort by our family to prompt and nudge the police but ultimately we are glad they are taking this step.
‘It is a success but it is only half a job done. We just want to find my grandmother and bury her at my mother’s farm. This ghastly mystery has haunted us all our lives.’
Police have been spotted making the final preparations at a farm before starting to dig for Muriel McKay’s remains, 55 years after she was murdered
Brothers Arthur (left) and Nazamodeen Hosein (right) were found guilty of her murder. Arthur died in prison in 2009, while Nizam was deported after serving a 20-year-prison sentence
The abduction is believed to have involved a case of mistaken identity – with the kidnappers intending to seize Anna Murdoch, first wife of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch (pictured)
Muriel’s daughter, Dianne (pictured, left), has for years fought to learn the truth of her mother’s murder, travelling to Trinidad with her son Mark Dyer (right) to speak with one of her killers, Nizamodeen Hosein (centre)
Commander Steve Clayman from The Met previously said officers will search an area where a manure heap once stood, but stressed they had concerns about inconsistencies in Nizamodeen’s account.
He said: ‘I’d like to thank Muriel’s family for their patience while we have taken time to really carefully consider all the information gathered in relation to this case. I know it has been a frustrating time for them.
‘We have decided we will carry out a further search at the Hertfordshire farm where it is believed Muriel’s remains may be. We carried out an extensive search there in spring 2022 but unfortunately it was unsuccessful.
‘Our recent inquiries mean other areas have been highlighted as being of potential interest and it is these we will search.
‘The main area is where a manure heap once stood – we know now this was probably larger than we previously thought and therefore that area was not entirely searched in 2022.
‘While we have concerns about inconsistences in the account provided by Nizamodeen Hosein, for completeness, we want to do this.
‘At this stage we have not set a date for the search to begin, but will keep Muriel’s family updated and informed.
‘The owners of the farm are fully aware and supportive and we thank them for their continuing help and co-operation.
‘We all share a hope and desire to find Muriel’s remains and bring some closure to her family after all these years.
‘We sincerely hope the search is successful. However, we have informed the family that if Muriel’s remains are sadly not found, it would not be proportionate to carry out any further searches or investigations.’
Police searched the farm in 2022 (pictured), but Hosein claims they searched the wrong area
Alick McKay is pictured making an appeal from his home in Wimbledon for the safe return of his missing wife in January 1970, with son Ian and daughters Jennifer (left) and Dianne (right)
The owners of the farm said in statement released by The Met: ‘Our position has been consistent from the very first request of the family of the late Mrs McKay for a dig at our home. We have always said that this is a police matter – they are the experts in investigating evidence and determining its credibility.
‘We have at all times provided the police with access to our land and granted permission to dig when requested by them, including when we have not been obliged to do so.
‘We agreed to support the decision of the police, whatever it was. They have now made their decision, which we respect, although we understand from the police that this was a finely judged call considering the unreliability of the evidence provided by the murderer.
‘In fact, the evidence is insufficient for the police to apply for search warrant. It now means that once this dig is concluded there will be a close to the debate and that no further searches on our land will happen.’
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: ‘The digging has begun at an area inside the barn and an area outside.
‘The manure heap was half-way inside the building and the rest in the open air. That’s where officers have been working today.’
Heavy rain battered the area today but the spokeswoman added it hadn’t affected the dig.
A small digger began by removing large bucketfuls of earth that were carried away by officers with wheelbarrows, before gloved colleagues carried out the meticulous search.
Diana Whitefield, 81, whose house backs onto Stocking Farm, said: ‘I will be very surprised if they find any remains after such a long time. I remember the day Muriel disappeared because it was the day my daughter was born.
‘I have seen a lot of police activity today while I have been out walking my dog.’