Sisters Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, 32, were last seen in the early hours of January 7 in Aberdeen and now a week on police have given an update on what the investigation
The search for two sisters who went missing in Aberdeen has entered its second week and now police have given an update with their main theory.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, 32, were last seen on CCTV on the city’s Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday January 7. They crossed the bridge and turned right on to a footpath next to the River Dee heading in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club.
Police have said that their main theory now is that the two women may have entered the River Dee and that they were notified of their disappearance by the sisters’ landlord.
Superintendent David Howieson said: “We have obtained further footage of their movements through the city centre.” But he added that their trail ends where the two go on a footpath by the river.
He told reporters: “I don’t want to speculate on likelihood, we are open minded, we have a theory which involves them entering the water as a potential, but we can’t rule out that the timeline continues on from that, but we haven’t established that through enquiries.”
Extensive searches have been carried out in recent days, with the police helicopter, dog branch and the marine unit among the specialist resources involved. Here’s what we know about the case of the missing sisters, originally from Hungary, so far.
It was revealed by SI Howieson that the two sisters arrived in the UK six years ago and had been working in Aberdeen since then. He said that it remains a missing persons enquiry and that they are “open minded” in terms of what may have happened.
“All our enquiries to date do not provide any evidence that there has been criminality involved in the disappearance of the sisters,” he said. “There is clearly concern when people are unaccounted for over such considerable period of time but police enquiries to date have not identified any suspicious circumstances.”
He said the search will focus around the river area today and a helicopter will be in use. “There will be significant police activity in the area today and over the coming days,” he emphasised. SI Howieson pointed out that the landlord contacted the police after going round to their house where there were signs that the pair were looking to leave but he added “there was nothing specific in the property to suggest they wanted to disappear or do themselves harm”.
Referring to the life in Aberdeen he also said there was nothing suspicious. He stated: “Everything suggests that Eliza and Henrietta were well settled having been here many years. They were in secure and happy employment, they had a social life and friends here, and this is totally out of character, both in terms of the police enquiry and from what friends and family have said.”
On Monday the family of the missing sisters released a statement appealing to anyone with any information that could help in the search to come forward. “This has been a very worrying and upsetting time for our family,” the statement read. “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. We appreciate all the support our family has been given over the past few days and we would like our privacy to be respected at this time.”
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..
SI Howieson opened the press briefing today with a statement saying: “We remain extremely concerned for Eliza and Henrietta as our searches enter a second week. Considerable efforts are being made to search the river and the surrounding area. We have spoken to a number of people in the course of our inquiries, including overnight, a week on from when they were last seen.
“We continue to examine all the available CCTV footage to try and establish the sisters’ movements in the early hours of Tuesday January 7. We remain in regular contact with Eliza and Henrietta’s family in Hungary and continue to provide them with support. We know our concern is shared by people across Aberdeen and the north east. I would urge anyone who may have information, which has not yet been passed to police, to get in touch.” Anyone with information is asked to contact 101 quoting incident number 0735 of Tuesday January 7 2025.
