A body has been found near where missing sisters Henrietta and Eliza Huszti were last seen in Aberdeen more than three weeks ago, detectives confirmed today.
Police Scotland mounted a huge search after the 32-year-old siblings, who were from a set of triplets, were last seen near the River Dee on January 7.
Today, the force revealed a person’s body was pulled out of the river after being spotted near Queen Elizabeth Bridge at about 7.55am this morning.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘We were made aware of the body of a person seen in the River Dee near Queen Elizabeth Bridge in Aberdeen around 7.55am on Friday. The body has been recovered from the water and enquiries are ongoing.’
It comes four days after police finished searching for the sisters in the river, following the last sighting of them on January 7 at 2.12am on Market Street at Victoria Bridge.
The disappearance of the Husztis, who were originally from Hungary, prompted a major search and rescue mission – but officers had been unable to find the pair.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti went missing from Aberdeen on January 7 in freezing conditions
A police dive boat on the River Dee in Aberdeen during the search for the sisters on January 14
A police dive boat heads out in Aberdeen during the search for the Huszti sisters on January 14
The two Hungarian women are part of a set of triplets (pictured with their brother Jozsef)
Police announced on Monday that ‘extensive and detailed searches’ of the river and harbour had concluded.
But the force said wider inquiries to find the sisters were ongoing, including searches of coastal areas in the north and south of Aberdeen.
Earlier, officers said the two women had visited the bridge where they were last seen the day before their disappearance.
They were seen at Victoria Bridge at around 2.50pm on January 6.
CCTV showed the sisters spent five minutes at the footpath and Victoria Bridge but did not engage with anyone else.
It also emerged a text message was sent from Henrietta’s mobile phone to the sisters’ landlady at 2.12am on January 7, from the area of Victoria Bridge, indicating they would not be returning to the flat.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti were last seen on CCTV in Market Street after leaving their home in Aberdeen city centre on January 7 at around 2.12am
Officers said the two women had visited the bridge where they were last seen the day before their disappearance. They were seen at Victoria Bridge at around 2.50pm on January 6
Police officers walk next to the River Dee during the search for the sisters on January 14
A map shows the areas of Aberdeen which have been searched by police for the sisters
The phone was then disconnected from the network and has not been active since, police said.
The following day, the sisters’ personal belongings were found in the flat and the landlady reported her concerns to police.
After visiting the bridge on January 6, CCTV footage showed the sisters making their way through the city centre, via the Union Square shopping centre, back to their flat in the Charlotte Street area.
Police said there was nothing to indicate they left it again until shortly before they were last seen at the River Dee.
When they were last seen on January 7, they crossed the bridge and turned right on to a footpath next to the river heading towards Aberdeen Boat Club.
