Body Found in River amid Search for Missing Sisters Who Vanished During Night Walk

• Siblings Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, 32, have been missing since they were last seen in Aberdeen, Scotland, in the early hours of Jan. 7
• On Friday, Jan. 31, Police Scotland confirmed in a statement to PEOPLE that a body had been recovered from the River Dee, approximately half a mile away from where the siblings were last spotted on CCTV
• “Inquiries are at an early stage and identification is yet to take place,” the police spokesperson said

A body has been found amid the search for the two sisters in Scotland who went missing more than three weeks ago.

On Friday, Jan. 31 at around 7:55 a.m. local time, the body of a person was spotted in the River Dee, not far from where siblings Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, 32 were last seen on CCTV in the early hours of Jan. 7. Formal identification is yet to take place, Police Scotland confirmed in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.

A police spokesperson said, “Police Scotland was made aware of the body of a person seen in the River Dee near Queen Elizabeth Bridge in Aberdeen around 7.55 a.m. on Friday 31 January 2025.”

“The body has since been recovered from the water,” they added.

“Inquiries are at an early stage and identification is yet to take place,” police insisted.

The sisters — who are part of a set of triplets — were last seen on CCTV footage on Market Street at the Victoria Bridge near the River Dee in Aberdeen at around 2:12 a.m. local time on Jan. 7.

Per the BBC, the Victoria Bridge and Queen Elizabeth Bridge, where the body was recovered, are about half a mile apart.

Since the siblings’ disappearance, authorities have focused their search on the river on the basis that there was “nothing to suggest that Eliza or Henrietta left the immediate area.”

However, in a statement obtained by PEOPLE earlier this week, local superintendent David Howieson said that inquiries to trace the missing sisters were ongoing, but searches surrounding the River Dee and Harbour area had come to an end.

“Extensive and detailed searches have been carried out of the River Dee and the Harbour area, using local and national specialist police resources, including the dive and marine unit, police dogs and air support, and those of partner agencies,” the officer said.

“These searches have now concluded at this time but inquiries will be ongoing to trace Eliza and Henrietta,” he continued.

The news came after police revealed in an updated appeal that an eerie text had been sent “from Henrietta’s mobile phone to their landlady at 2:12 a.m,” which is the same time they were last seen on CCTV, on the morning of the siblings’ disappearance. The message indicated “they would not be returning” to the apartment, police said in the release.

“The phone was then disconnected from the network and has not been active since,” police stated.

“The following day, the sisters’ personal belongings were found inside the flat and the landlady reported her concerns to police,” authorities added in the appeal.

Additional CCTV footage showed the sisters “made an earlier visit to the bridge where they were last seen.” According to the appeal, the footage showed the women at 2:50 p.m. on Jan. 6 wearing rucksacks.

“CCTV shows Eliza and Henrietta spent five minutes at the footpath and the Victoria Bridge but did not engage with anyone else,” police said. “After visiting the bridge, the sisters are then seen on CCTV making their way through the city center, via the Union Square shopping center, back to their flat in the Charlotte Street area of Aberdeen.”

The appeal continued: “There is nothing to indicate that Eliza or Henrietta left their flat again until shortly before they were last seen at the River Dee in the early hours.”

Officers previously confirmed they had also been “liaising with authorities in Hungary, where the missing women are from, to support relatives as searches continue.”

Local chief inspector, Darren Bruce, previously spoke about the family’s concern about the disappearance.

“Eliza and Henrietta’s family are understandably extremely worried about them, and we are working tirelessly to find them. We are seriously concerned about them and have significant resources dedicated to the inquiry,” a public appeal read.

The third triplet, Edit Huszti, last spoke to her sisters on New Year’s Eve and they “appeared happy and cheerful,” according to the BBC. She shared it was unlike her siblings “to be out on the streets in the early hours of the morning.”

“Eliza and Henrietta are both described as white and of slim build with long, brown hair,” authorities said.