Betty Alexander went missing from her home at 43 Buccleuch Street, last seen by her parents at 5.30pm on October 7 1952.
The days between her disappearance and the discovery of her body saw locals, and those across Scotland, involved in the search for Betty. Led by Glasgow’s Chief Detective Inspector Neil Beaton, police and individuals were desperate to find the four-year-old.
The Daily Record told readers on October 9: “Squads of policemen and policewomen last night completed an exhaustive search of the Garnethill area of the city for four-yearold Betty Alexander, 43 Buccleuch Street, who has been missing since Tuesday.
“But wee Betty has not yet been found. During the search, when disused air-raid shelters, dark closes and little-used lanes were combed, several people contacted the police claiming to have seen the smiling-faced little girl whose photograph looked down at them from every police box and station throughout the city.”
Tips poured in from across the area, though Inspector Neil Beaton admitted: “Fears for her safety are mounting.
“Everything possible is being done. Teams of police and detectives are on special patrol and we have inquired into hundreds of reports by people claiming to have seen Betty - nothing has come to light.”
A neighbour of the Alexander family informed police that she witnessed a small girl led off by a short, stout, middle-aged man dressed in a blue suit. This tip was never successfully traced.
By the morning of October 10, reports that Kelvingrove Park had been searched along with a stretch of the canal at Port Dundas dragged. A group of mothers from the Garnethill area, led by Mrs Rose McGinley - the Alexander’s next door neighbour, set off in groups to scour Anderston and Partick.
Rose told the Daily Record: “Most of these women have been neglecting their homes to help look for Betty. I’ve spent over 16 hours going over back-courts and closed in the district and will go on looking until she is found.”
Buccleuch Street, usually an area filled with playing children and smiling faces, was deserted. Mothers met their young children from the school gates, rushing home and locking their doors.
Newspapers continued to publish descriptions of Betty described as a fair-haired girl with brown eyes and a slight scar on her forehead, and last seen wearing a brown coat over a ilt with a grey and green jersey and brown shoes.
As reports continued on the search for Betty, a cleaner at the Sick Children’s Dispensary made a horrific discovery. As Agnes Hunter carried carpets into the back yard to be cleaned, Betty’s body sat propped against the steps at the foot of the boundary wall.
The news would eventually reach Betty’s family, who had maintained an unbroken vigil since her disappearance on October 7.
This is the first instalment in Glasgow Live's four part Testimony series, looking into one of Glasgow's most horrific cold cases.
The first looks at the initial search for Betty, while the second investigates the leads and evidence collected by police.
The third looks at the suspects police investigated, a search which has being going on for 70 years.
Finally, we provide a timeline of the events surrounding Betty's murder.
