Alice Byrne: Police say that missing Portobello woman 'entered the water alone' the morning she went missing

Police Scotland believes that missing Portobello woman, Alice Byrne, 'entered the water alone' the morning she went missing.

In a statement released on Thursday, Police confirmed that Alice Byrne, who was last seen leaving a friend’s flat on Marlborough Street on New Year’s morning, walked towards the promenade and beach area.

They now believe that she ‘entered the water alone’ that morning, and efforts are still ongoing to trace her.

In their post, police confirm: “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, January 1, 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.”

Extensive searches have been ongoing over the course of the last six weeks since Alice was reported missing, including a police drone flying over Portobello beach.

Alice Byrne: Police say that missing Portobello woman 'entered the water alone' the morning she went missing

Her family initially reported that she hadn’t been seen since around 2am on New Year’s Day when she left to head to the beach party, but within a few hours her friends had come forward to say she had been at the party in Marlborough Street and left at around 10am.

When she went missing she was wearing a black t-shirt, ripped black jeans and white trainers. In a bid to help people identify Alice her family released an image and description of a distinctive bat tattoo on her right wrist.

Alice’s disappearance sparked immediate concern among the Portobello community; concern which spread across the city within hours, and the rest of Scotland within days.

A Facebook page named ‘Find Alice Byrne’ was launched by locals who wanted to assist in searching for the missing 28-year-old, but police officers requested that all non-official searches be called off so as not to disrupt the investigation.

Now the group is used to offer information, support and hope that she will be found safe.

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