The family of Alice Byrne have asked members of the public to help them remove appeal posters for the missing Edinburgh woman.
Their plea follows a tragic update from police who say they believe the 28-year-old entered the Firth of Forth river alone on January 1.
Alice was last seen leaving a friend’s flat in Marlborough Street, Portobello, on the morning of New Year’s Day, before walking towards the promenade and beach.
A major search operation was launched after she failed to make contact with her worried family, who described her disappearance as “completely out of character”.
Posters were plastered across the capital and beyond as the general public rallied to help find Alice before the tragic update from Police Scotland on February 10.
A statement on the Find Alice Byrne Facebook page said: “Now that we have had some time to absorb and process the news, we have an important request for you all, which has been agreed with the family.
“Out of respect for Alice, can we please ask that we now start to remove our posters, which we all poured so much time and effort into distributing?
“We understand what an important moment this is, so there is no pressure, but if you are able and comfortable doing this, then it would be much appreciated.
“Thanks once again for your help and support.”
Police say their “extensive enquiries”, which including scouring CCTV footage from the area, revealed that Alice likely entered the sea.
A force spokesperson 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."
Anyone with information is asked to phone the police on 101, quoting reference 0647 of January 2.
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