Detectives searching for two sisters who vanished on a Scottish bridge a week ago have returned to the spot where the pair were last seen.
Police Scotland is appealing for help finding Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32 and part of a set of three triplets, after they were reported missing from their home in Aberdeen city centre.
The Hungarian nationals were last seen on CCTV on Market Street at the Victoria Bridge over the River Dee at around 2.12am on 7 January.
Officers spoke to people in the area during an early morning operation on Tuesday to try and shed more light on the sisters’ last known movements.
Extensive searches have been carried out with the police helicopter, dog branch and the marine unit among the specialist resources involved.
They crossed the bridge and turned right onto a footpath next to the River Dee heading in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club. They have not been seen since and searches have now entered a second week.
Investigations have focused on the River Dee and following enquiries so far, there is nothing to suggest that Eliza or Henrietta left the immediate area.
Superintendent David Howieson said: “We remain extremely concerned for Eliza and Henrietta as our searches enter a second week.
“Considerable efforts are being made to search the river and the surrounding area. We have spoken to a number of people in the course of our enquiries, including overnight, a week on from when they were last seen.
“We continue to examine all the available CCTV footage to try and establish the sisters’ movements in the early hours of Tuesday, 7 January.
“We remain in regular contact with Eliza and Henrietta’s family in Hungary and continue to provide them with support.
“We know our concern is shared by people across Aberdeen and the North East. I would urge anyone who may have information, which has not yet been passed to police, to get in touch.“
He stressed to reporters at the scene that “nothing we’ve found suggests criminality or suspicious circumstances”, confirming the investigation is a missing persons inquiry rather than a criminal one.
Mr Howieson added: “We’re trying to remain open-minded in terms of what the wider circumstances may have been.
“What we know is that the behaviour of the sisters in the morning on which they disappeared is very out of character.
“We don’t really understand why they seem to have left their home address and walked to this area in a fairly direct line before the CCTV footage of them is exhausted.
“One of our theories has to be that they’ve entered the water for reasons unknown, and that’s why so much of our search activity is focused on the river, the river bank, and the harbour itself, but we’re not ruling out the fact that they may have left this area by means that we haven’t identified yet.”
Eliza and Henrietta are both described by police as white and of slim build with long, brown hair.
Their family said: “This has been a very worrying and upsetting time for our family.
“We are really worried about Eliza and Henrietta and all we want is for them to be found.
“If you think you might have any information which could help the police with finding Eliza and Henrietta then please pass this on as quickly as you can.
“We appreciate all the support our family has been given over the past few days and we would like our privacy to be respected at this time.”
The two sisters, who were described as being “very close”, moved from Hungary to Scotland together about seven years ago.
Their brother Jozsef Huszti said their mother spoke to the pair for 40 minutes the Saturday before and said nothing seemed unusual.
Their other sister Edit also said she had spoken to them on New Year’s Eve and they appeared to be happy and cheerful.
She said it was out of character for them to be on the streets in the early hours of the morning.
Businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area are urged to review their CCTV footage for early morning on 7 January and contact the police if it holds anything that may be relevant to the investigation.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact 101 quoting incident number 0735 of Tuesday, 7 January, 2025.
