Body recovered from water in search for missing sisters last spotted on CCTV near Aberdeen river
31 January 2025, 09:37 | Updated: 31 January 2025, 12:38
A body has been found in the hunt for two missing sisters who were last seen near a bridge in Aberdeen.
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Henrietta and Eliza Huszti, both 32, were last captured on CCTV walking near the River Dee during the early hours of January 7.
It comes just days after official police searches of the River Dee in Aberdeen came to an end.
Police Scotland said in a statement on Friday: "The body has been recovered from the water and inquiries are ongoing."
The force confirmed the body was spotted in the river east of Aberdeen Boat Club around 7.55am on Friday and has since been recovered by police.
They added that while the woman is yet to be formally identified, the family of Henrietta Huszti, 32, has been informed, while the search for Eliza is ongoing.
"Enquiries are ongoing but there are no apparent suspicious circumstances," their statement added.
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A police boat was seen searching the river on Friday morning, with activity centred close to the Aberdeen Boat Club.
The sisters, who were part of a set of triplets, were last spotted on CCTV walking near Market Street at Victoria Bridge at 2.12am on the day they vanished.
Officers previously noted the disappearance is being treating as a missing persons inquiry and not a criminal investigation.
Police Scotland added a in a statement on Friday: "We were made aware of the body of a person seen in the River Dee near Queen Elizabeth Bridge in Aberdeen around 07:55 on Friday. "
The sisters, who are originally from Hungary, moved to Scotland around 10 years ago.
Their disappearance prompted a major search and rescue mission but officers have been unable to find the pair nearly four weeks on.
Superintendent David Howieson said: "Our thoughts are with the Huszti family today. We are keeping them fully updated following this recovery and the further search activity which is ongoing.
"Our priority remains finding both of the sisters and search has focused on the River Dee and will do so in the coming days. Nothing from our extensive enquiries so far suggest either sister left the immediate area after they were last seen on Tuesday, 7 January.
"There is also nothing to suggest any suspicious circumstances or criminality."
"We are carrying out further searches of the river in the area where the body was recovered this morning.
"The river in this area is tidal and conditions are challenging but we will continue to search and make every effort to locate both of the sisters.
Police Scotland announced on Monday that "extensive and detailed searches" of the river and harbour had concluded, with the recovery prompting renewed search efforts along the river.
But the force said wider inquiries to find the sisters are 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.
The pair were spotted walking over the bridge at around 2.50pm on January 6.
The sisters are seen to spend five minutes where the footpath meets 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.
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 shows 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 is 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.
