Detectives now fear two sisters who vanished a week ago in Aberdeen went into a river – but insisted there remained no evidence to suggest criminality.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, 32, who are part of a set of triplets, went missing from the city last Tuesday, January 7 in freezing conditions.
The pair, who are originally from Hungary, were last seen on CCTV walking on Victoria Bridge over the River Dee just after 2am.
Since then specialist search teams including marine divers and police dogs have been out in force on and along the river as concerns for their safety grows.
Today, Police Scotland Superintendent David Howison said: ‘All our enquiries to date don’t provide any evidence that there’s been criminality involved in the disappearance.
‘There’s obviously significant concern when people are unaccounted for for such a significant period of time. But extensive police enquiries to date have not identified any suspicious circumstances.’
He added: ‘We have a number of hypotheses and we’re remaining really open minded in terms of what may have happened.
‘But one of the main theories is that for some reason the sisters have entered the water here, and that’s why a lot of the search activity that you’ll seen over the last few days has been focused in and around the river.’
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti went missing from Aberdeen last Tuesday in freezing conditions
The two Hungarian women are part of a set of triplets (pictured with their brother Jozsef)
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti were last seen on CCTV just after 2am last Tuesday in Aberdeen
Superintendent Howison said the alarm was raised by their landlord at the home they rented, adding: ‘In the days preceding, the sisters had indicated to the landlord that they intended to leave their tenancy.
‘The landlord carried out enquiries at the address which has led them to be concerned about the whereabouts of the sisters specifically due to some materials, personal possessions that had been left within the address.’
He continued: ‘There’s nothing specific within the property to suggest that they had either an intention to disappear or an intention to do themselves harm.
‘What there was within the property, there were a number of personal possessions which are now in the possession of the police and those are thing that we can interrogate to glean further information in relation to the wider circumstances.
‘But nothing to explicitly suggest that they wanted to either leave the area immediately or they had any intent to do themselves harm.’
He also confirmed that the landlord had been identified as a witness, but there were no suspects and it remained a missing person’s inquiry rather than a criminal inquiry.
Police search the River Dee near Victoria Bridge and Aberdeen Boat Club last Friday
Police Scotland Superintendent David Howison said today there is no evidence of criminality
The sisters were last seen on CCTV in Aberdeen’s Market Street after leaving their home
Police also said there is no evidence the sisters left the immediate area and yesterday specialist search officers focused on the riverbanks between Wellington Bridge and the South Harbour.
In a heartfelt statement issued through Police Scotland, the sisters’ family have urged anyone with information to contact the police.
Relatives 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.’
They said they ‘appreciate’ all the support their family has received and asked that their privacy is respected at this time.
Edit, the other triplet, has said her two sisters were very close and did most things together.
The sisters’ brother, Jozsef, has told the BBC that their mother spoke to the pair on the first Saturday in January and that nothing seemed out of the ordinary with them.
Police marine units have been scouring the cold waters of Aberdeen, pictured on Saturday
This map shows the areas which are being searched for the sisters in Aberdeen
The last sighting of them was caught on CCTV cameras, which showed they had crossed the bridge towards the Torry area and turned right on to a footpath next to the River Dee, heading in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club.
Both are described as white, of slim build and have long brown hair.
Search and rescue boats have been out on the river over the weekend, while a police helicopter has also been scouring the area from above.
Officers are also examining CCTV footage from the area, as well as carrying out door-to-door enquiries and speaking to local businesses.
Police Scotland Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: ‘Eliza and Henrietta’s family remain extremely worried about them and we are in regular contact with them as our searches continue.
‘We know that people across Aberdeen are also seriously concerned for the two missing sisters and I would again urge anyone with information which could help to get in touch with us.
He added: ‘The River Dee remains the focus of our searches as there is no evidence of the sisters leaving the immediate area.’
‘I would again ask, if you were in the area in the early hours of last Tuesday morning, please think back, did you notice anyone matching their description?
‘Even if it doesn’t seem significant, please pass any information on. Any piece of information could prove crucial.’
Angone with private CCTV or dash-cam footage from around the time is urged to contact police on 101 quoting incident number 0735 of Tuesday January 7, 2025