Who is Marion Hodge and why are police reinvestigating her disappearance from Lockerbie?

280222 Marion Hodge Police Scotland
Her body was never found but she was declared dead by the Court of Session, Edinburgh, in 1993 due to no sightings or contact. Credit: Police Scotland

Scottish police have started a reinvestigation into Marion Hodge's disappearance from Lockerbie back in 1984.

Her body was never found but she was declared dead by the Court of Session, Edinburgh, in 1993 due to no sightings or contact.

It has been almost 38 years since she went missing but the case has now been passed onto the Unresolved Homicide Investigation Team.

Who was Marion Hodge and when did she go missing?

Marion first disappeared in July of 1984, with no sightings since.

She was thought to have been dropped off in the Whitesands area of Dumfries around 7.30am on Friday 6 July when she was carrying a blue canvas suitcase and brown handbag, wearing a cream high collared blouse, grey skirt and black sandals.

She was described as 5ft 4in tall, slim build with dark brown collar length hair and was 34-years-old at the time of her disappearance.

Three days later she was reported missing to Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary.

The mother-of-two lived in Balgray, Lockerbie, and worked in the town’s Clydesdale Bank.

One of Marion’s four siblings, Frances, is asking for anyone who has any information to get in touch with the police.

Frances said Marion did well in school as well as liking sports and singing.

They said: "Marion did well at school and liked sports and singing. She was voted Gala Queen at Lockerbie when she was 15. She could have gone on to further education but got engaged at 18, then married and became a mother at 19.

"She took to motherhood, running a house and was devoted to her children. She started working in the local Clydesdale Bank again after her children were at school and was at the bank during a notorious armed robbery in 1984."

Frances said it was "uncharacteristic" of Marion to go missing due t being so devoted to her children as well as it being her son's 15th birthday.

Why are the police investigating Marion's disappearance?

Marion's case has now been passed onto Police Scotland's Unresolved Homicide Investigation Team after being reviewed by the Homicide Governance and Review Team which keep unresolved inquiries under review.

Detective Inspector Stephen McGrath, senior investigating officer, said: "We understand how devastating it is for loved ones to never know what happened.

"We are trying to get answers for Marion’s family and friends and we’re asking the public for help.

"We’re appealing to anyone who remembers anything unusual leading up to Marion’s disappearance, any sightings in the Whitesands area or any other relevant information that might help our inquiry."