Renatta Ginns, who fears her son Jason Anderson was murdered, has pleaded for new information after seeing footage of her son with a shadowy figure. The 33-year-old was found dead in the River Ayr at Failford, Mauchline, on Valentine’s Day after last being seen in the village of Catrine on December 12. Police have treated the tragedy as “unexplained”.
Family's suspicions and complaints
Jason’s family believe his death could be suspicious and have lodged complaints with Police Scotland over their handling of the case. They have now called on the public to help them secure new evidence after CCTV images captured Jason walking with a male when he was last seen. They believe they know who the man is, but claim that their requests for certain information to be investigated have been repeatedly denied by the force.
Renatta Ginns, who was taunted by cruel messages in the wake of her son’s death claiming he had been killed, told the Record she has now been forced to turn detective in a bid to get answers for her son. She said: “This man is the last person to see Jason alive. Jason is never seen again after this. Why is there no CCTV of him after this point? The public need to know the facts. They need to know what they are potentially living among. There are so many uncertainties over the information we have been given which have not been investigated.”
Timeline of sightings
Jason is understood to have vanished after police were called to investigate a domestic incident. CCTV released by police in December showed him the day before he was last seen – which his family say shows bruising to his face. They say they were then shown another clip by police of Jason in a local games hall on Old Station Road the next day at 9.50pm.
Renatta said the dad-of-four had called his cousin in Manchester just hours before the CCTV images were captured, begging for help in getting a train out of Scotland. She said: “In the clip at 9.50pm we believe he was with the same individual. I know my son and I feel like he was very on edge at the time. I could see he was nervous about something. You can tell by his body language, he keeps looking back behind him. I had big concerns when I was shown it. He seemed to be limping on his left leg.”
Images captured by a Ring doorbell just 20 minutes later on Gordon Street show someone the family believe to be Jason carrying a white carrier bag and walking a short distance ahead of a male. The family say they were shown a further potential clip by police captured 12 minutes later but it was deemed too grainy. There have been no other confirmed sightings since.
Mother's own investigation
Renatta has enlisted the help of an online investigator and said she has been forced to gather information herself. She said: “I had gone up to Failford where my son was found and out to Catrine to have a walk around. I spoke to the owner of the shop where CCTV was taken from. The shopkeeper was very concerned about Jason due to the bruising on his face. He said it was very bad.”
The family say they weren’t told he was missing until six days after he was last seen. The police helicopter, drones, the Dive and Marine Unit and mountain rescue teams were also involved in the operation to trace him but his body was pulled from the water on February 14 – almost six miles away from Catrine. The family say post-mortem results did not indicate Jason had drowned or harmed himself.
Heartbroken Renatta then received a string of sinister messages on Facebook, with one saying: “Do you wanna see your son’s final moments alive? Because he was crying like a b****. And good luck with the police finding me, I’m not in the UK no more.” The sender has never been traced and the mum has now demanded a second post-mortem. She said: “Jason was found on day six of the Glasgow Humane Society searching. I don’t believe he’s been in the water all of that time. Why didn’t police find my son in that nine weeks? I’m having to do my own investigations and find out all these answers on my own.”
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “A report has been submitted to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in connection with the death of Jason Anderson. A complaint has been received and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.” A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “The Procurator Fiscal received a report in connection with the death of 33-year-old Jason Anderson in Mauchline on 14 February 2026. We recognise the profound loss experienced by Jason’s family and their desire to understand the circumstances surrounding his death. A meeting with Jason’s loved ones will take place in due course to discuss our investigation process and its findings.”
