POLICE have said the investigation into the murder of schoolgirl Moira Anderson remains “live” 65 years after she was last seen.

The 11-year-old disappeared after leaving her home in Coatbridge in February 1957.

It is widely believed she was killed by bus driver and convicted paedophile Alexander Gartshore, who died in 2006.

Moira's body has never been found after years of extensive searches.

But a forensic soil scientist who has been brought in to help police identify new locations believes Moira’s remains could finally be discovered, STV News reports.

Professor Lorna Dawson has suggested that the Witchwood area of Coatbridge is worth investigating, and that modern techniques could find answers.

She told STV News: “There is certainly intelligence and physical information on the ground that would suggest there are at least two other locations that could be treated as a priority.

“We have plotted the bus route Moira took on the night she went missing, where she was last seen and where the bus stopped.

“The whole area was a mining zone and there are areas where a body could be concealed, and other links with places Alexander Gartshore was known to have been.”

Authorities have conducted previous searches in a graveyard and a canal.

Professor Dawson said: “These things don’t happen quickly and they have to be planned very carefully.

“They have to go from a non-invasive, high level, to a more detailed ground search to look for more specific features that might indicate there was a body at that location.”

Moira was last seen boarding a bus driven by Gartshore after leaving her grandmother’s house on February 23, 1957.

Gartshore was jailed later that year for raping a 17-year-old babysitter, and a former friend named him as Moira’s murderer in 1999.

Gartshore's daughter Sandra Brown also believes her father was the killer and campaigned for him to be prosecuted, and in 2014 the Crown Office declared that he would have been charged with murder had he still been alive.

Ms Brown said she and Moira’s family were hoping for a new search for Moira's remains.

She told STV News: “The person I believe is responsible has passed away, but her sisters are still alive and they deserve answers. I deserve answers.

“The cold case unit has not given up. This might be the last throw of the dice.”

A foundation was set up in Moira's name providing counselling for children and young people.

Glasgow Times: A programme from a memorial service for Moira on the 60th anniversary of her disappearance in 2017.A programme from a memorial service for Moira on the 60th anniversary of her disappearance in 2017.

To mark the 65th anniversary of Moira's disappearance, young people’s minister Clare Haughey will open new play therapy rooms, while flowers will be planted at a memorial bench in Dunbeth Park.

Meanwhile, police are asking anyone with new information on the case to come forward.

Detective Superintendent Suzie Chow said: “This case remains a live investigation and I would appeal to the public for any information which will assist with recovering Moira’s remains.

“Any new information or intelligence which is passed to police will be assessed and investigated thoroughly.”