Alice Byrne – family acknowledge love and support from the community

Alice Byrne was reported missing from Portobello on 1 January 2022. Her family and friends have published posters and social media posts in an effort to find her.While police continue to investigate, they now say that they believe she may have”entered the water alone”. She had been at a party, and police say she was seen on her way to the beach on New Year’s Day morning.

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “Extensive enquiries have been carried out as part of our efforts to trace 28-year-old Alice Byrne, including house to house enquiries, CCTV reviews and detailed searches in the local area. Alice was last seen leaving a friend’s flat in Marlborough Street, Edinburgh, on the morning of Saturday, 1 January, 2022, and walking towards the promenade and beach. Our enquiries have subsequently indicated that Alice entered the water alone on the morning she went missing. Efforts to trace her continue and officers are providing support and updates to Alice’s family.”

Alice’s family has issued the following statement:

“Firstly, thank you to all the family, friends, neighbours and strangers who’ve supported us and helped spread the message about Alice. You’ll never know what this means to us.

“Secondly, a thanks to the police who have been professional and supportive from the very beginning of all this. They do far, far more than people realise and we have full confidence in everything they’ve done. Their investigation is ongoing and they continue to support us.

“We’ve been astounded by the support and motivation to help, from all across the world. That means a lot to us. We know that Alice was loved, that people really do care and wanted to help us find her. We also know that the police have followed up on every lead reported and every potential sighting.

“Sadly, based on a range of evidence, we believe that Alice entered the water alone on the first of January. There is no evidence to suggest she left the water and there is no suspicion of any criminality. As you’d expect we are all devastated. We’re aware that this will raise a lot of questions however we will not be giving any more detail at this time.

“Finally, we ask that people please respect our family’s privacy. There is a lot to deal with and we don’t want to be fielding questions.

“Thank you all.”