A major search to find two sisters who vanished near a river in Aberdeen has entered day six.
An appeal to find Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, was launched last week after the sisters were reported missing from their home. An extensive effort involving specialist teams, police dogs and the marine unit has been underway in recent days.
The two women, who are part of a set of triplets, are originally from Hungary and understood to have moved to Scotland seven years ago. Police Scotland say they have the support of police in their home country, who are liaising with the wider family.
The sisters’ brother Jozsef told the BBC their mother spoke to the pair last Saturday and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.
Speaking to the Record on Monday morning, a spokesperson for Police Scotland confirmed the pair are still missing and enquiries remain ongoing to trace them. This is everything we know so far.
When were they reported missing?
Eliza and Henrietta were reported missing to Police Scotland six days ago on Tuesday, January 11.
When and where they were last seen?
The pair were last spotted on the CCTV footage in the Market Street area of Aberdeen at around 2.12am on Tuesday.
The missing sisters crossed the Victoria Bridge to the Torry area and turned right on to a footpath next to the River Dee – heading in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club. It is understood the focus of the search remained at the icy river near Victoria Bridge on Sunday.
How is the search being conducted?
Police have been seen scouring the water and the banks of the River Dee, close to the Queen Elizabeth Bridge. A helicopter was also spotted circling the river in a bid to find Eliza and Henrietta Huszti.
A heavy police presence was spotted close to the river on Friday. Two police boats were on the water while a land search was carried out along the banks. Police divers have also been sighted in the water.
Police will remain at the scene while further searches, including the coast towards the Port of Aberdeen’s South Harbour, and towards Duthie Park, are carried out. Officers are liaising with authorities in Hungary, where the missing women are from, to support relatives as searches continue.
CCTV footage from the area where Eliza and Henrietta were last seen is also being examined, with door-to-door enquiries being carried out, as well as speaking to local businesses. The River Dee remains the focus of searches as there is no evidence of the missing women leaving the immediate area.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce from Police Scotland said: “Extensive enquiries are ongoing to trace Eliza and Henrietta and searches are being carried out in and around the area where they were last seen. Local officers, led by specialist search advisors are being assisted by resources including police dogs and our marine unit. The Torry side of Victoria Bridge where they were last seen has many commercial and industrial units.”
What has their family said?
Eliza and Henrietta’s brother Jozsef told BBC News that he had a 40-minute conversation with his sisters were they seemed “fine”.
The pair’s sister Edit Huszti, who is the other triplet, also said she spoke to them on New Year’s Eve via video call where she said they appeared ‘happy and cheerful’, according to the BBC. Their disappearance was described as out of character for the sisters who “did not go out much”.
Police appeal in full
Local businesses around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road are being asked to review CCTV footage in case there are any sightings of Eliza and Henrietta. Members of the public are also asked to check dashcam footage for the sisters.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Eliza and Henrietta’s family are understandably extremely worried about them and we are working tirelessly to find them. We are seriously concerned about them and have significant resources dedicated to the enquiry.
“We are again urging the public to come forward with any information relating to Eliza and Henrietta’s whereabouts. The focus of our search remains the River Dee and I would again ask, if you were in the area at the time, please think back, did you notice anyone matching their description?
“Even if it doesn’t seem significant, please pass any information on and let us be the judge of that. I would again urge businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to please review their CCTV footage for early morning on Tuesday and contact us if it holds anything that may be relevant to our investigation.
“We are also keen to hear from anyone with dashcam footage from that time. Anyone with any information is asked to contact 101 quoting incident number 0735 of Tuesday, January 7, 2025.”
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond – Sign up to our daily newsletter here.