A MURDER hunt was launched yesterday after the body of a young man who had been missing for more than five weeks was found in a shallow grave in woods close to his West Lothian home.
The discovery confirmed the worst fears of 21-year-old's Thomas McKendrick's family who were last night said to be ''devastated.''
Lothian and Borders police formally identified Mr Mc-
Kendrick after a post-mortem examination yesterday.
Mr McKendrick, whose body was found on Saturday, disappeared from his home in Church Place in the village of Fauldhouse on December 11. The corpse was discovered in dense woodland several hundred yards from the village's community centre.
Sandra French, his mother, yesterday said that she was ''in total shock'' and added: ''I had feared the worst the longer Tommy was missing. I had really given up hope of his ever being found alive.''
Fears that harm had come to Mr McKendrick, who was unemployed and lived with his mother and his sister, Sandra-Mary, surfaced after he failed to make contact with his family over the festive period and did not pick up benefit cheques.
Concerns increased earlier this month with the discovery of some of his clothes dumped in a plastic bag. At that time, his 53-year-old mother spoke of her anguish and concern and the ''unbearable'' wait for news.
She said that it was out of character for her son, who was 5ft 11ins tall with a shaved head and a scar on his left arm, to disappear and not be in touch and that he had missed his sister's birthday.
She said the last contact had been when she heard her son talking to a close friend before leaving the house without saying goodbye.
Detectives, who set up an incident room at Bathgate police station and appealed for anyone with information to come forward, said that Mr McKendrick was a keen ferreter who frequently visited the disused Levenseat quarry near Breich. They added that he had disappeared with a man known only as ''Andy,'' from the Whitburn area.
Officers said at that time that they believed the answer to his disappearance lay locally.
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