Missing Without a Trace: The Murder of Arlene Fraser | Ep. 284

Arlene McInnes was born in the town of Elgin in North East Scotland on August 18th 1964.

She was the second daughter of Hector and Isabel McInnes and her formative years were shaped in part by her dad's work as a naval aircraft mechanic.

His job meant the family moved around a lot during Arlene's younger years, although Elgin would always be the place she thought of as home.

Sadly, their parents' marriage didn't last.

Hector and Isabel separated in 1971, when Arlene was around six years old, going on seven.

Hector was subsequently posted to Cornwall, a good 500 miles away from Elgin as the crow flies, way down in southwest England, while Arlene remained in Scotland with her mum.

Despite the distance and the breakdown of the marriage, Arlene maintained a relationship with her dad and continued to enjoy regular visits to her paternal grandparents in Edinburgh.

Arlene's older sister was called Carol and the two were pretty close in age, with only around a year and a half between them.

They spent plenty of time together growing up and they were close, but they had quite different personalities, particularly when it came to school.

Carol was the more academically minded of the two sisters.

She worked hard, applied herself to her studies and did well in her exams.

Arlene, on the other hand, was much more laid back.

She wasn't particularly interested in homework or formal education and she had little desire to spend her days with her head buried in school books.

Isabel later described Arlene as being a little scatterbrained, while Carol remembered her sister having the sort of rebellious streak that plenty of teenagers and parents of teenagers would recognise.

Arlene dabbled with smoking, occasionally bunked off school and tested the boundaries from time to time.

Nothing out of the ordinary for a young girl finding her feet and figuring out what she wanted from life.

She was also very sociable and had plenty of friends.

According to Carol, Arlene had a string of boyfriends during her teenage years and took pride in her appearance when she went out.

She enjoyed shopping, fashion and keeping fit, and she was a keen horse rider as well.

These were interests she carried with her into adulthood, and they formed part of the picture of a young woman who enjoyed being around people and making the most of her time outside work.

Arlene eventually left Elgin Academy at 16 without any formal qualifications.

That wasn't necessarily a reflection of her ability or her willingness to work.

She just knew that she wanted to leave school and start earning her own money rather than continue with her education.

For Arlene, getting out into the world and becoming independent mattered far more than collecting a set of exam certificates.

She worked a number of jobs around Elgin, including a position at a local clothing boutique and a bar.