Torture killer Colin Coats convinced detectives they would find tragic Lynda Spence when they started digging a remote area for her remains.
Desperate officers approached Coats – who is serving life for Lynda’s kidnap and murder – to help them locate her body during their failed search of a site in Argyll. They escorted the brute to a field in Dunoon where he claimed he buried his 27-year-old victim 11 years ago.
His co-accused Philip Wade, also jailed for life for his role in Lynda’s death, also visited the site after the evil pair pinpointed a location on a map. Police were so certain of success they told the tragic financial adviser’s parents they were “98 per cent sure” they’d find her.
However, mum Patricia and dad Jim were devastated when the three-month probe drew a blank. It is understood the dig was triggered after a prisoner serving a sentence for organised crime offences in HMP Glenochil approached police with a tip-off.
It is believed he told detectives Coats revealed in a conversation where Lynda was buried.
A source close to the family said: “Police told Lynda’s parents they were 98 per cent sure they’d find Lynda – that is how positive they were of their information. They were sure their source was right.
“The cops decided to approach Coats and Wade after they got information from a source.
“They each pointed to an area on the map. The locations didn’t exactly match but it was close enough for the police to think they were in the right area. They even got Coats and Wade out to the scene on separate occasions to help them.”
It was the first time Lynda’s killers have co-operated with police since they snatched her off a street in Glasgow in 2011. The pair were jailed at the High Court in the city following an 11-week trial in 2013.
Coats, 52, was told he’d serve a minimum of 33 years in prison before being considered for release. Wade, also 52, will be locked up for 30 years before being eligible for parole.
The source added: “The family were worried that Coats and Wade were wasting everyone’s time and just wanted a day out of prison.
“But the police said they weren’t being strung along.”
The source said: “Being told Lynda was buried in Dunoon came as a huge shock to her parents. It had never been mentioned before.”
Police have promised to continue searching for Lynda’s remains.
Detective Superintendent Suzanne Chow said: “Extensive inquiries were carried out at the site since March 2022.
“These were completed in July and, unfortunately, we did not recover Lynda’s remains or any
new evidence.”
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