UK UK - Alice Byrne, 28, last seen around 2am after beach party, Portobello, Edinburgh, 1 Jan 2022

[MsMiniSleuth]

@katydid23 and was she actually headed for beach, or was the way she was going just a route home?

 

[Allabouttrial]

My take on it is this.

"Alice Byrne was last seen at around 2am on January 1 and is understood to have attended a Hogmanay beach party in Portobello, near Edinburgh."

It's says in the article that she attended the beach party, so obviously they have a witness who saw her there.

I think she met/saw some friends, who all went on to a party on Marlborough St. It could just have been that one or more of her friends live there and they decided to all go back for a few more drinks.

She may only live 5 minutes away but at that time of morning she may not have felt safe walking home alone, so just crashed there.

Maybe when she woke, she couldn't find her hoodie from the night before and just decided she'd brave it as her house isn't that far away.

This is a small community and if you don't personally know who lives at that flat, a friend of a friend will know. I think we would have heard by now if something had happened to her at the party.

 

[JuicyLucy]

I don't really understand the insinuations that there was something off about the party. I mean, there may have been, or something may have happened there that affected her mood or state of mind, but all the surface indications are that it was just a normal party.

My all-night partying days are (probably) over, but I haven't got dementia yet and can well remember staying up half the night on a regular basis, never mind for NYE/Hogmanay. Alice is young, free and single. What's so odd about heading out for some fun after staying in to listen to the bells with her family? The way people are talking, it's as if some of us don't understand what parties are.

And yes, she did tell her family she was planning to go out at 2am. It's all in the link I posted: Twin brother begs sister to come home after vanishing from Edinburgh NYE beach party

What I don't quite get, is what was happening from 2 am until 10 am the next morning? Did she stay up all night and talk with friends at the party? Or were they drinking? Or did she take a nap?

I am trying to get a handle on what kind of 'condition' she was when she left that morning. Was she rested and calm? Just wanting a nice walk on the beach?

Or was she up all night partying and was tired and hungry?

We lack a lot of information both about Alice and about the other people there, don't we. Does she drink? Does she drink to excess? And what kind of drunk is she? Garrulous, amorous, tearful, sleepy? Does she use drugs recreationally? Is she on any medication that might interact badly with alcohol etc? How well did she know the other people there and what kind of people are they? Was there likely to be some joker slipping ketamine into people's drinks? She may have been in a complete state by the morning, or she may have crashed on a sofa for a couple of hours and just been tired and in need of a fry-up. We don't really know, and a fair bit of that isn't our business, but it may make a difference to what happened next in terms of her ability to think straight, make good decisions or defend herself.

I really hope plenty of people who were at the party and on the street and beach the next day have come forward so that police can build up a picture of the circumstances that surrounded Alice's last known movements. But there may well be other things in Alice's life that we also don't know about, which might equally have influenced what happened next.

JMO

 

[Kristin Esq.]

I'm just learning about this case. Praying she is found soon!

 

[Doughy]

Her fb says she was in a relationship from 12th Decemeber. Not heard anything mentioned about that.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

Her fb says she was in a relationship from 12th Decemeber. Not heard anything mentioned about that.

Interesting. Was she with them?

 

[Doughy]

Can the title of the thread be changed? Last seen 1oam Jan 1st after leaving a flat where party had been held? She was seen after 2am and after the beach party.

 

[Doughy]

Photo of Alice's tattoo shared - only a sketch of it was seen before.

Find Alice Byrne #FindAliceByrne | Sharing with the permission of family

 

[MintyMerlin]

I don't really understand the insinuations that there was something off about the party. I mean, there may have been, or something may have happened there that affected her mood or state of mind, but all the surface indications are that it was just a normal party.

My all-night partying days are (probably) over, but I haven't got dementia yet and can well remember staying up half the night on a regular basis, never mind for NYE/Hogmanay. Alice is young, free and single. What's so odd about heading out for some fun after staying in to listen to the bells with her family? The way people are talking, it's as if some of us don't understand what parties are.

And yes, she did tell her family she was planning to go out at 2am. It's all in the link I posted: Twin brother begs sister to come home after vanishing from Edinburgh NYE beach party



We lack a lot of information both about Alice and about the other people there, don't we. Does she drink? Does she drink to excess? And what kind of drunk is she? Garrulous, amorous, tearful, sleepy? Does she use drugs recreationally? Is she on any medication that might interact badly with alcohol etc? How well did she know the other people there and what kind of people are they? Was there likely to be some joker slipping ketamine into people's drinks? She may have been in a complete state by the morning, or she may have crashed on a sofa for a couple of hours and just been tired and in need of a fry-up. We don't really know, and a fair bit of that isn't our business, but it may make a difference to what happened next in terms of her ability to think straight, make good decisions or defend herself.

I really hope plenty of people who were at the party and on the street and beach the next day have come forward so that police can build up a picture of the circumstances that surrounded Alice's last known movements. But there may well be other things in Alice's life that we also don't know about, which might equally have influenced what happened next.

JMO

Yes you are right. I don't think I meant that there was something weird about the party, more the timeline of the missing report.

If you didn't know where someone was, but you knew they went to *a party*, you would surely assume their last location was that party, not at home.

But perhaps that is a police thing, eg police would only release the info that she was 'last seen' at 2am because that was when the family (who made the report) last saw her.

 

[Doughy]

Yes you are right. I don't think I meant that there was something weird about the party, more the timeline of the missing report.

If you didn't know where someone was, but you knew they went to *a party*, you would surely assume their last location was that party, not at home.

But perhaps that is a police thing, eg police would only release the info that she was 'last seen' at 2am because that was when the family (who made the report) last saw her.

Well that's when the family who reported her missing last saw her. After they reported her missing they must have found out she went to the flat party overnight so the timeline and reporting changed.

 

[JuicyLucy]

Yes you are right. I don't think I meant that there was something weird about the party, more the timeline of the missing report.

If you didn't know where someone was, but you knew they went to *a party*, you would surely assume their last location was that party, not at home.

But perhaps that is a police thing, eg police would only release the info that she was 'last seen' at 2am because that was when the family (who made the report) last saw her.

Sorry, I didn't mean your comments @MintyMerlin so much as those in some other posts that now seem to have disappeared, oddly.

One of the reasons the timeline seems confusing is because someone upthread re-posted the original appeal poster, which is now quite out of date. When Alice's family originally reported her missing, they only knew she'd left home for the party at 2am. The sighting on Marlborough Street (originally stated as 10am, now apparently between 8am and 10am) subsequently made it clear she'd been seen again later than that.

I also think the various reports have caused confusion about whether the party she left home for was the beach party (as stated) or a house party at Marlborough Street (since that's where she clearly ended up). It seems now that she went to the beach party first and then on to Marlborough Street with friends.

Given she then left in shirtsleeves on a freezing cold morning and police seem to think she headed for the beach, my hypothesis would be that she lost her hoody at some point during the party and went back there to look for it the next morning.

Unfortunately that was 9 days ago now, so something else clearly happened as well.

I do still feel she may be found safe though.

 

[RobinCAL]

Photo of missing Scot Alice Byrne's bat wrist tattoo released in bid to find her

Nothing new - just about the tattoo picture

 

[StillDiggin]

Quite a good 4 min news clip from Edinburgh Evening News about Alice. They interview a few locals also.
Can you help find Alice Byrne?

 

[Deleted member 277705]

Re- “..but it must be said that the local folk upthread thought the tide would be against a successful suicide of that nature”. That's a new one on me. Never knew that drownings were dependant on tidal conditions. If people can drown in a couple of inches of bath water, I don't think tides will make any difference as to whether sea water gets into the lungs or not.

 

[JuicyLucy]

Re- “..but it must be said that the local folk upthread thought the tide would be against a successful suicide of that nature”. That's a new one on me. Never knew that drownings were dependant on tidal conditions. If people can drown in a couple of inches of bath water, I don't think tides will make any difference as to whether sea water gets into the lungs or not.

It's me you're quoting, and you're right, I expressed myself suboptimally.

I think people's point was not necessarily that she couldn't have drowned, but that because of the prevailing tides, it's unlikely she'd have been washed away - in other words, that what's happened to her would not be a mystery.

I don't know the area, though, still less the tides, so I may have misinterpreted what the local people were trying to say.

 

[jiminy]

I originally mentioned that the tide was coming in at 10am. (My recollection is high tide was around 1pm) and things being swept shoreward was what I was trying to infer.

 

[Deleted member 277705]

Edited for focus.

I sincerely hope you are right, but personally, I don't harbour any optimism, based on my understanding of the circumstances & what has been publicised so far in the media. I also take into account the actions of LE - the custodians of far greater knowledge & awareness of the situation than that made known to the general public. I feel that they will continue to deploy & direct their resources in a most thorough & appropriate manner - & that no expense or effort will be spared in their search to locate Alice.

 

[Deleted member 277705]

I originally mentioned that the tide was coming in at 10am. (My recollection is high tide was around 1pm) and things being swept shoreward was what I was trying to infer.

...

Assuming that a person has gone to the beach & ventured into the water for a “dook” & then suffered an unrecoverable catastrophic medical event, an incoming tide is not guaranteed to wash them back to the shore, although they may only be metres from it. There are so many variable factors & unseen forces at work in terms of oceanography. For instance, there's numerous currents to take into consideration, eg tidal, wind driven currents, convection currents etc. They are all at play in addition to complicated coastal & bottom topography & river flow factors etc.. The general circulation pattern in the Firth of Forth (which is part of the North Sea) must be regarded as largely speculative and bear in mind, these patterns vary from season to season, from year to year.

 

[katydid23]

I don't really understand the insinuations that there was something off about the party. I mean, there may have been, or something may have happened there that affected her mood or state of mind, but all the surface indications are that it was just a normal party.

My all-night partying days are (probably) over, but I haven't got dementia yet and can well remember staying up half the night on a regular basis, never mind for NYE/Hogmanay. Alice is young, free and single. What's so odd about heading out for some fun after staying in to listen to the bells with her family? The way people are talking, it's as if some of us don't understand what parties are.

And yes, she did tell her family she was planning to go out at 2am. It's all in the link I posted: Twin brother begs sister to come home after vanishing from Edinburgh NYE beach party



We lack a lot of information both about Alice and about the other people there, don't we. Does she drink? Does she drink to excess? And what kind of drunk is she? Garrulous, amorous, tearful, sleepy? Does she use drugs recreationally? Is she on any medication that might interact badly with alcohol etc? How well did she know the other people there and what kind of people are they? Was there likely to be some joker slipping ketamine into people's drinks? She may have been in a complete state by the morning, or she may have crashed on a sofa for a couple of hours and just been tired and in need of a fry-up. We don't really know, and a fair bit of that isn't our business, but it may make a difference to what happened next in terms of her ability to think straight, make good decisions or defend herself.

I really hope plenty of people who were at the party and on the street and beach the next day have come forward so that police can build up a picture of the circumstances that surrounded Alice's last known movements. But there may well be other things in Alice's life that we also don't know about, which might equally have influenced what happened next.

JMO

I don't mean to insinuate anything about the party. I simply want to understand what her mood was when she left. As far as we know, it was the last place anyone has seen her safe and sound. So it makes me wonder if she was upset in any way when she left.

It may have nothing to do with the party itself. But it is a possibility, in my opinion, that she went to the beach and may have entered the water that morning. I just don't know for sure.

If she had a great time with her friends, was upbeat and excited about the New Year, then I doubt she went for a long swim. But if it was a depressing night and she felt hopeless about her future, for some reason---maybe a bad relationship and some lingering emotional trauma, etc, then New Years morning may have been a time she decided to change her life dramatically.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

I don't mean to insinuate anything about the party. I simply want to understand what her mood was when she left. As far as we know, it was the last place anyone has seen her safe and sound. So it makes me wonder if she was upset in any way when she left.

It may have nothing to do with the party itself. But it is a possibility, in my opinion, that she went to the beach and may have entered the water that morning. I just don't know for sure.

If she had a great time with her friends, was upbeat and excited about the New Year, then I doubt she went for a long swim. But if it was a depressing night and she felt hopeless about her future, for some reason---maybe a bad relationship and some lingering emotional trauma, etc, then New Years morning may have been a time she decided to change her life dramatically.

I didn't take it as your insinuating anything; your points are all valid and worth considering.

The simple fact is we are all here just speculating and no one is right or wrong as we are not close to the missing person.

There are always certain things not made public in any investigation, as there is no doubt here.