Officers searching for a vulnerable Highland Perthshire pensioner have moved to allay public fears that she may have been abducted.
Tayside Police confirmed concerted efforts are continuing in an effort to trace Elizabeth Stevenson a month on from when she first disappeared. But a spokeswoman for the force insisted there was no evidence to suggest any foul play.
Mrs Stevenson, known as Bet, was reported missing from her home in Pitlochry’s Aldour Gardens on Tuesday February 21. Family members found the property empty after 5pm that evening but the last confirmed sighting of the 77-year-old was more than two hours earlier on the A9 near Faskally Bridge. She is thought to have walked along Atholl Road at approximately 2pm.
In one of the largest missing person operations Highland Perthshire has seen, extensive land and air searches were been carried out around the town and in the surrounding countryside. Police, Tayside Mountain Rescue, RAF helicopter staff, inshore lifeboat crews, an underwater search team and many members of the community were all involved.
Mrs Stevenson’s daughter Fiona Kerr also took part in a re-enactment in an effort to jog the memories of passing motorists but the exercise failed to provide any fresh information.
There is now growing speculation in the town that Mrs Stevenson may in fact have been kidnapped.
One local resident told The Courier: ”Bet’s disappearance has had a big impact on Pitlochry. People desperately want her to be found safe and well but hopes are fading.
“Though no-one wants to think about it, some are questioning whether she might have been taken whilst walking on the A9. The whole area has been scoured by experts and nothing has been found, which is making people wonder.”
The force spokeswoman told The Courier: ”Our efforts to trace Bet will continue as we seek to provide her loving family with the answers they desperately seek. Bet has not been seen since the time that she was first reported missing and, clearly as the days have passed, her family’s fears have grown.”
She added: ”It is important to stress that there is nothing whatsoever to suggest that Bet has been the victim of any crime or foul play. But she remains missing and we remain resolved to finding out what has happened to her.
”We would once again appeal to anyone who has seen Bet, or who has information that could assist our inquiries to contact us.”
Well-known in the local community, the elderly woman suffers from dementia and sight problems and her family are deeply concerned for her safety.
Mrs Stevenson is described as 5ft 4in, slim, with blue eyes and jaw-length hair. When last seen she was wearing a beige jacket, grey trousers and black boots.
Anyone who knows where she is or who has information that could assist police inquiries is asked to call 0300 111 222.