Skip to content

Bodies found in river confirmed as missing sisters

Ken Banks
BBC Scotland, Aberdeen
Huszti family Missing sisters Henrietta and Eliza Huszti are photographed smiling and looking at camera.Huszti family
The sisters had disappeared early in January

Two bodies found in a river in Aberdeen have been identified as a pair of sisters who had gone missing, police have confirmed.

Henrietta and Eliza Huszti - both 32 and part of a set of triplets - disappeared on 7 January.

The sisters, originally from Hungary, moved to Scotland about 10 years ago. The bodies were found in the River Dee near where they were last seen alive.

Supt David Howieson, of Police Scotland, said: "The two bodies recovered from the River Dee on Friday, 31 January, have now been formally identified as Henrietta and Eliza Huszti. Inquiries remain ongoing to establish the exact cause of death however there are no apparent suspicious circumstances."

Huszti family Henrietta and Eliza Huszti are photographed smiling and looking at camera, both standing in snow, wearing blue jeans, one wearing a red jacket, the other wearing a purple jacket, both wearing warm pink hats and with bags over shoulder.Huszti family
The sisters' disappearance came during a bitterly cold spell in Aberdeen

Their brother, Jozsef Huszti, told BBC News the family could not comprehend the events, and that there were many unanswered questions.

He said they were still waiting to hear from police with instructions on when the bodies may be released.

Cremation would then be done in Scotland and the funerals held in Hungary.

He plans to travel to Scotland at some stage.

Flowers on grass near a boat club, after discovery of bodies
Flowers were laid at the scene after both bodies were recovered from the River Dee

The disappearance of the two sisters sparked a major search operation last month.

They were last seen in the early hours of 7 January, when they crossed the Victoria Bridge and turned right onto a footpath next to the river heading towards Aberdeen Boat Club.

The sisters disappeared during a bitterly cold spell in Aberdeen

Detectives previously revealed the sisters visited the Victoria Bridge the day before they disappeared.

Plan to move out of flat

They also texted their landlady from the bridge area in the early hours of 7 January to say they would not return to their flat.

The two missing sisters had not told relatives they planned to imminently move out of their rented Aberdeen flat.

They had been saving up to buy a property but their brother Jozsef told BBC News last month it was "strange" the family did not know they had decided to end their tenancy.

The first body had been found near Queen Elizabeth Bridge at about 07:55 on 31 January.

Officers then found the second body in an area of the river near to the Victoria Bridge at about 21:05.

The Victoria Bridge and Queen Elizabeth Bridge are about half a mile apart on the River Dee.

More on this story