By Steven Bell

AN APPEAL to trace a mystery friend of murdered Dundee woman Carol Lannen has produced “positive lines of inquiry,” police have confirmed.

Detectives have been following up on calls since the plea for information about the man—thought to be called Roger—was made two months ago.

Although the man has not yet been traced, the team working on the 28-year-old case said they were encouraged by the response from the public.

A Tayside Police spokesman said, “We have had a lot of calls from the public, and are following positive lines of inquiry.”

The body of 18-year-old Carol was found in Templeton Woods on the outskirts of Dundee on Wednesday, March 22, 1979.

She left her home in Dundee’s Hill Street on the night of March 20 and was known to have been in the Castle Street and Exchange Street areas of Dundee city centre—an area she frequented on a regular basis.

Carol was last seen wearing a white polo neck jumper, a brown mid-length striped skirt with matching tie belt, a black velvet jacket, and black lacing shoes with metal toe caps.

Tayside Police have never closed the Carol Lannen murder inquiry file. Despite the passage of time, officers continue to receive information relating to the case.

Detectives working on the inquiry have received information that around the mid-1970s Carol was known to be friendly with a man thought to be called Roger who lived in a flat somewhere between numbers 56 and 60 Main Street, Dundee, near to the junction with Dens Road.

He may have been a bus or coach driver at the time, although this has not been confirmed.

Roger would have been aged between 25 and 30 at the time, so would be aged in his late 50s or early 60s now.

He was described as being of stocky build with light brown hair swept back off his face. He had long prominent side burns and spoke with a local Dundee accent.

While the man is not being treated as a suspect, officers believe he may be able to assist them with their inquiries by providing additional information regarding other associates or friends of Carol Lannen and other locations she may have been visiting.

It is known Carol was friendly with this man, visited him at his home, and there is information to suggest she sometimes ran errands for him.

Police said it was “important” to find out what their association together was as it would fill a gap in one of Scotland’s most enduring and perplexing murder investigations.

Anyone who thinks they can identify the man is asked to phone Tayside Police on Dundee 223200 or speak to any police officer.

Information can also be passed on anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.