Finding the missing Edinburgh woman and other Scots like her remains ‘the highest priority’ according to the Scottish Police Association Board.
The Edinburgh Evening News reported that during a Scottish Police Authority (SPA) meeting on Wednesday, missing 28-year-old Alice Byrne was mentioned amidst concerns for dealing with missing person cases across the country.
Alice, who has been missing since New Year’s Day, was last seen leaving a friends flat on Marlborough Street in the Portobello area of Edinburgh at 10am.
Despite extensive searches by the police’s air, dog and marine units, no further sightings of Alice have been identified.
The paper reported that Tom Halpin, a board member of the SPA, said that “finding Alice and other people like her remains the highest priority” and he sent his ‘support and sincerest thoughts’ to her family.
Mr Halpin added that it was ‘encouraging’ to see the use of drones in searches for Alice, which have been seen around Portobello Beach and the promenade, where it was believed that she was headed.
Police Scotland Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said her disappearance was a ‘tragedy’, and he said that ‘high-risk missing persons’ are always seen as vital issues.
Missing Alice is described as white, around 5ft 6ins in height and of medium build with short black hair.
When she was last seen she was wearing a black top, black jeans and white trainers.
A Facebook group has been set up to aid community efforts in the search for her.
The Find Alice Byrne group has amassed 5,000 members and has been set up to spread the word of her disappearance.
Missing person posters have been distributed around the Edinburgh area and beyond and have been translated in to other languages by community members to aid the search.
Anyone with information on Alice’s whereabouts should contact 101 quoting reference 0647 of 2 January.
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