A Scottish family has renewed their appeal for information on the disappearance of three-year-old Sandy Davidson on April 23, 1976. Little Sandy was playing in his grandmother's back garden with his younger sister Donna that spring morning in Irvine, Ayrshire when the garden gate swung open and the family dog escaped. As Donna went inside the house to tell her grandmother, Sandy, who had blue eyes and blonde hair, ran through the gate after the dog. He was never seen again, despite a huge search operation that included dredging the nearby river. This week Sandy's father Phil (now 66) broke a 40 year silence to give an interview about the case. Together with his daughter Donna (now 42) and Sandy's mother Margaret, who he is no longer married to, the distraught dad recalled the day his little boy disappeared.

“It was as if a spaceship came down, took him up and took him away,” Phil told The Daily Record. "It’s the not knowing. We have no idea what’s happened, whether he’s coming back. “In some ways, after 40 years, you almost give up. But at the same time you can’t help but hope.

  Sandy is among 50 children and teenagers who have vanished in Scotland in the last 50 years. As part of a new push for information, Police Scotland released this age-enhanced image of what Sandy might look like now. Senior Investigator on the case, Superintendent David Halliday, told The Herald Scotland:

“Despite the passage of time, this missing person investigation remains open and I'd like to take this opportunity on the anniversary of Sandy's disappearance to ask people to cast their minds back to Friday April 23 1976. Did you live in Bourtreehill in Irvine, specifically around the area where Sandy was last seen in St Kilda Street? “Friday April 23 1976 was a relatively warm day as Sandy played outside with his sister Donna. The community of Bourtreehill was tight-knit and mostly everyone knew their neighbour. “Did you see Sandy when he left his grandmother's garden? He was quite a distinctive-looking child with light blonde hair and blue eyes.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland directly.