Family unaware missing women had ended tenancy

Two missing sisters had not told relatives they planned to “immediately” move out of their rented Aberdeen flat, their brother has said.

Eliza and Henrietta Huszti – both 32 and originally from Hungary – were last seen in Market Street at Victoria Bridge in the early hours of 7 January.

Since the alarm was raised searches have been focused around the River Dee.

The sisters – who are part of a set of triplets – moved to Scotland about 10 years ago and had been saving to buy their own home.

But their brother, Jozsef, told BBC News it was “strange” the family did not know they had decided to end their current tenancy.

Speaking at his home in Budapest, Mr Huszti said: “We don’t understand this whole thing.

“That 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.

“Even when my mother spoke to them on the Saturday, they didn’t mention anything about it, that they had any plan to move out.”

He said the women had no financial difficulties and were saving up to buy their own property.

Mr Huszti said the sisters spoke to their mother weekly, sometimes daily, and were very close to her.

He described them as cautious women, always talking things through with each other and with their mother.

Mr Huszti added that the family had been flooded with messages of support.

Police Scotland have confirmed it is a missing persons inquiry and not a criminal investigation.

Supt Davie Howieson revealed on Tuesday the alarm was raised by the landlord of the sisters.

He said: “In the days preceding, the sisters had indicated to the landlord that they intended to leave their tenancy and the landlord carried out inquiries at the address which has led them to be concerned about the whereabouts of the sisters.”

Supt Howieson said the force had “a number of hypotheses” and they were remaining open-minded in terms of what may have happened.

One of the main theories is that the sisters somehow entered the water in the River Dee area that is being searched.

The area was covered in snow and ice when the sisters disappeared, after a spell of bitterly cold weather.

Officers spoke to pedestrians and motorists in the area during an early morning operation on Tuesday, a week on from their disappearance, to try and shed more light on their movements.

Extensive searches have been carried out, with the police helicopter, divers and dogs involved.

Relatives had released a statement on Monday evening 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.”

The women are both described as white and of slim build with long brown hair.