A convicted paedophile who was recently questioned over the disappearance of his stepdaughter more than 40 years ago has been found dead.
The body of Norman Duncan, 75, was found in the property in Ladyton, Bonhill, with his death described as "sudden".
Police confirmed that they attended the property last Wednesday (May 25) and said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death, the Daily Record reports.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 8.35pm on Wednesday, May 25, police were called to a property in Ladyton, Bonhill, following the sudden death of a 75-year-old man.
“There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and a report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.”
Duncan had been investigated by officers over the disappearance of Mary Duncan, his stepdaughter, when she was 17-years-old in 1976.
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The case remains unsolved despite extensive investigations, including at Duncan's house in 2019 when officers attended the property in a bid to launch a fresh probe.
The pensioner was behind bars at the time of the search while a forensic team combed through the house for seven days.
Officers did not confirm if the enquiry was linked to Mary's disappearance but her sister Mandy Duncan said at the time: “We are praying that there is something in that house which will lead us to Mary and bring us closure.
"All we can do now is wait — we just want it to be over.”
Duncan was convicted in 2016 of impregnating a 15-year-old girl as well as sexually abusing three children decades earlier.
He was found guilty of six charges involving four girls aged between eight and 15, all committed between the 1960s and 1970s, and received a five-year prison sentence.
After completing his jail time, he returned back to his home in Ladyton.
Searches also took place at the Vale of Leven Hospital in 2020, where Mary frequented, and land in a residential area of Helensburgh was also searched later that year.
Her sisters Debbie Renwick, Mandy Duncan and Marion McFarlane pled for information after the new investigation was launched in 2018, describing her as a “devoted mother” and a “quiet, happy girl”.
Mary disappeared from her home in Alexandria without a trace in 1976.
When she disappeared, she left behind her baby daughter Laura, and police said in August that they "must consider the option that she may have come to harm".
Speaking at a press conference during the re-appeal for information, Detective Superintendent Calum Young said: “Mary’s family were left devastated by her disappearance, a pain which lives with them to this day and it is vital that we get to the bottom of what happened to their sister and provide them with some closure.”
He admitted it was a “challenging” investigation given the passing of time and said any new technologies would be utilised to their full effect, adding: “Every resource is at our disposal.”
A Police Scotland spokeswoman confirmed enquiries into Mary’s disappearance remain ongoing.
