A local has told how there was “no reason” to be walking a “horribly” icy river path at night following the disappearance of two sisters in Aberdeen.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on Market Street at the Victoria Bridge over the River Dee at around 2.12am on Tuesday January 7. They crossed the bridge and turned right on to a footpath next to the river heading towards Aberdeen Boat Club.
Mystery surrounds what has happened to the two who along with another sister were triplets originally from Hungary. They are said to have been living and working in Aberdeen for six years and there was nothing unusual that has been found by police in their working or social life.
In a police update last Friday, did say that investigations into their disappearance have now confirmed both women, who were wearing rucksacks, were seen at the same bridge at around 2.50pm on Monday January 6.
Extensive searches have been carried out, with a police helicopter, dog branch and the marine unit among the specialist resources involved. Officers said there is nothing to suggest criminality or suspicious circumstances, and they renewed their appeal for information.
One local resident George Meldrum has spoken of his surprise at the sisters deciding to go along the footpath which he said would have been treacherous due to the wintry conditions at the time. “I don’t understand it,” Mr Meldrum told the Guardian. “There’s no reason to be walking this path at that time of the night.” He also pointed out that the path would be “horribly” icy along with snow.
Mr Meldrum said that the path only goes to a boathouse building. “It doesn’t lead to anywhere that would be open,” he reportedly said, and added after the boathouse “the path just comes to a stop at the next bridge”. At the same time he pointed out that the area is known to locals as being without CCTV which is by the deprived area of Torry, while for anyone who enters the river, the North Sea is close by.
“If you were to fall in now it would be freezing and a real shock – you’re not far from the North Sea and it’s been a cold winter,” he added. Another local near the Bon Accord shopping centre where one of the sisters is said to have worked, told the outlet: “It’s the fact that they have completely disappeared that doesn’t make sense.” He added: “There are a lot of footpaths that people walk, along both rivers. Some are better maintained than others, depending on the season and the weather.”
There is also a small Hungarian population living in Aberdeen and two local Facebook pages in the language where messages of good wishes have been left. The missing sisters have been described as “quiet” by fellow Hungarians living there.
A surprise detail that has emerged from the police investigation is that 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, th e sisters’ personal belongings were found inside 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 of Aberdeen.
Police said there is nothing to indicate they left it again until shortly before they were last seen at the River Dee. Officers said there is nothing to suggest criminality or suspicious circumstances, and they renewed their appeal for information. Superintendent David Howieson said: “We have carried out a significant trawl of public and private CCTV footage as we try to establish the sisters’ movements.
“Several hours of footage are being examined by a dedicated team of officers and we have so far established that Eliza and Henrietta were at the footpath next to the River Dee at 2.50pm on Monday January 6. Although the sisters didn’t engage with anyone else at this time, the area would have been busy and we are keen to speak to anyone who may have seen them.
“Please think back, did you notice anyone matching their description? After returning home, there is nothing to indicate that Eliza or Henrietta left their flat again until shortly before they were last seen at the River Dee. Extensive inquiries are ongoing and I would again stress there is nothing to suggest any suspicious circumstances or criminality.”
The women, who are both described as white and of slim build with long, brown hair, are originally from Hungary. One theory police are considering is that they somehow entered the water, and search efforts have been focusing on the River Dee and surrounding area. Police said there is nothing to suggest either of the women left the immediate area after 2.12am on January 7.
Mr Howieson said: “We remain in regular contact with Eliza and Henrietta’s family in Hungary and we will continue to provide them with support at this very difficult time. Searches will continue in the coming days and our officers will continue to do everything they can to find Eliza and Henrietta.”
Earlier in the week it emerged the sisters did not tell relatives they were “immediately” going to move out of their rented flat. In an interview with the BBC, their brother Jozsef said they did not inform their relatives of this decision – including during a phone call they had with their mother on the Saturday before their disappearance.
He said: “They wrote a message to their landlady that they wanted to immediately end their tenancy agreement. We didn’t have any information about that. So that’s the strange thing, that the girls didn’t tell us anything about that. They never mentioned any such plan.” Anyone with information is asked to contact scotland > Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 0735 of Tuesday January 7.
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