£20k reward offered for information on border murder

The 18-year-old was last seen leaving a dance in Aughnacloy near the border with Emyvale.

A REWARD of £20,000 has been offered by independent charity, Crimestoppers, for information in relation to the investigation of the murder of Marian Beattie.

Marian was just 18 when her partially-clothed body was found at a quarry in Aughnacloy near the border with Emyvale on March 31, 1973.

Crimestoppers, the independent charity that lets people share information about crime anonymously, has put up the substantial reward as detectives from the PSNI’s Legacy Investigation Branch continue to investigate the cold case of the “Girl in the Quarry”.

A man in his 70s was arrested over the teenager’s murder last month but was later released on bail following questioning “to allow for further police enquiries”.

In late March 1973, Marian Beattie went to a charity dance at Hadden's Garage on the outskirts of Aughnacloy with her best friend, Nuala, to see her brother’s band.

Marian was seen dancing with two people during the gig, including an unknown young man around 5ft 6” or 5ft 7” tall, who appeared to be in his late teens, with long, dirty blonde hair and drooped shoulders.

Another unidentified man, who was in the company of the individual with long hair, asked Nuala to dance, but she turned him down. Shortly after 1am, Marian’s brother, Isadore, saw her leave the venue with the long-haired man. They walked in the direction of the quarry.

When she failed to return to Hadden’s Garage by 2am Nuala and Isadore went to the local RUC station and reported Marian missing.

A metal bar, believed to have been used to strike the teen, was found beside her body. The buttons of her blouse were also found neatly stacked beside her body along with several spent matches.

No one has ever been charged with or convicted of her murder.

In June 2025, the Police Ombudsman’s Office in the North recommended the PSNI should commission an independent review of Marian’s murder. The Police Ombudsman’s Chief Executive, Hugh Hume, said Marian’s family had not received the service they deserved from the police.

Today, Detective Inspector McCrissican, from the PSNI’s Legacy Investigation Branch, said: “Marian’s family deserves to know what happened to her that night and our investigation continues.”

“I appreciate this murder took place over 50 years ago, but we would like to talk to anyone who was at the dance at Hadden’s Garage on the night of Friday, 30th March, 1973,” DI McCrissican said.

The Detective Inspector said he hopes the £20,000 reward offered by Crinestoppers will encourage those with information to tell Crimestoppers what they know and that information will, in turn, help the PSNI identify those responsible.

“Did you see who she was dancing with or speaking with? Did you see her leave the dance with a man? Do you know who he was? Did you see her in the car park at the quarry any time after 1.15am on the Saturday morning?,” The police officer asks.

“Additionally, do you remember anyone who was at the dance returning home distressed or with dirt on their clothes? Has anyone ever talked about the events of that night?”

He appealed to anyone who may be able to bring some closure to the Beattie family to come forward and speak to detectives in Legacy Investigation Branch.

Detectives can be contacted by calling 101. Alternatively, a report can be made online at https://reporting.psni.police.uk/appeals. Information can also be provided to police through the Major Incident Public Portal at: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/PSNI23S01-PO1.

Alternatively, if you wish to stay anonymous or wish to be eligible for a reward, please contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.” When contacting Crimestoppers, there is no caller line display, no 1471 facility and computer IP addresses are never traced.