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

[JuicyLucy]

It would be helpful to know - and afaik police have not clarified this - whether the sighting of her leaving the Marlborough Street flat was by someone inside the flat, or someone outside the flat, or on CCTV.

The vague timescale of 'between 8am and 10am' makes me think it was a witness, which would make them the last person to see Alice alive. Who that witness was makes a difference to how reliable the sighting is, and even to whether or not it was really Alice they saw.

Considering sunrise on 1 January was 8.43am, I'm leaning towards the witness being someone in the flat who saw (or thought they saw) her leave, as anyone outside would know whether it was dark or light, you would think, and CCTV would also show the light level as well as being timestamped.

I'm not making any accusations, but I would hope if the only witness to her leaving was someone inside the flat, that the police would be circumspect about accepting that account without question - since their prime job here is to establish whether a crime has been committed. Ideally they would be looking for some corroborating evidence that she left and/or searching for her inside the building.

The other thing that afaik has not been clarified is the internal set-up within the building she supposedly left, what floor the flat is on and whether she would have had to pass through any communal areas before reaching the street, i.e. whether she might have left the building by a back route or still be in a communal area or another flat. Obviously, none of that's relevant if the sighting of her was on the street.

If the sighting was on CCTV, I'm surprised it hasn't been released as a memory jogger for anyone who might have seen her later.

JMO

 

[RobinCAL]

In pictures: The search for missing Edinburgh woman Alice Byrne continues two weeks after she was last seen

Using CCTV footage of Alice on the day she went missing, police were able to say what clothes she was wearing. She was last seen wearing black ripped jeans and a black t-shirt. She is also described as white, 5ft 6in with short black hair.
BBM

So the CCTV footage we saw has been confirmed to be the day she went missing? I think there was a conversation about it not being?

 

[JuicyLucy]

In pictures: The search for missing Edinburgh woman Alice Byrne continues two weeks after she was last seen

Using CCTV footage of Alice on the day she went missing, police were able to say what clothes she was wearing. She was last seen wearing black ripped jeans and a black t-shirt. She is also described as white, 5ft 6in with short black hair.
BBM

So the CCTV footage we saw has been confirmed to be the day she went missing? I think there was a conversation about it not being?

I think the journalist got ahead of themselves with that. The picture they've shown to illustrate that was later confirmed to be CCTV footage of her leaving her workplace on a different occasion, which the police released to illustrate what she was apparently wearing on 1 January.

(Whether that was helpful or not is something we debated upthread, and the confusion it's caused even to a journalist covering the case seems to confirm it wasn't!)

 

[RobinCAL]

I think the journalist got ahead of themselves with that. The picture they've shown to illustrate that was later confirmed to be CCTV footage of her leaving her workplace on a different occasion, which the police released to illustrate what she was apparently wearing on 1 January.

(Whether that was helpful or not is something we debated upthread, and the confusion it's caused even to a journalist covering the case seems to confirm it wasn't!)

Thank you!

 

[rhino]

I’m just on my way home from Edinburgh. There’s are certainly plenty of posters of Alice everywhere. So worrying though, it’s been far too long with no news

 

[MintyMerlin]

At 28 if you break your phone you panic - replace it asap or get a temporary one -
What person that age would go without a cell phone? Friend’s contacts? Texts they miss Tiktok Instagram Facebook - it’s endless. Not being able to contact your bff.. etc etc

It was NYE she was headed to another party at 2am - without a cell phone?

It doesn’t make any sense to me.

Then she leaves party between (8 and 10am) to “maybe” head to the beach ..

What state was she in? Did someone leave with her? Did someone from party follow her out? Was it a small gathering? Were people there that she didn’t know and misjudged trusting them? Did someone from the party know she didn’t have a phone? Did someone put something is her drink?

The last people to see here were at that party - in my gut - someone isn’t speaking up ….

It's interesting isn't it? I have all the same feelings. Without the CCTV it's really hard to trust that the sighting is reliable, it's a case of believing that the police are on the case and have asked those questions. Which for anyone who has followed certain cases in recent years, is easier said than done.

The family have been able to apply the kind of pressure to raise the profile of her missing case to the national media level. I think that does lend me confidence that LE are actually investigating rather than dismissing.

But in the absence of any search of that flat, the fact that LE haven't stated the disappearance is suspicious, and the lack of anyone being questioned, we are assuming that the police theory is that she has gone into the water.

They may have other reasons for not sharing more information. But after this amount of time, that strategy begins to seem questionable.

 

[Carja7]

I'm around that age and I'm not glued to my phone. I can go days without and then figure I better check in. I wouldn't panic if my phone broke but I might be annoyed with it for the cost to replace it. But that's maybe not the norm! Imo

 

[MountainGal33]

If you break your phone on or around NYE, you're not going to be able to replace it for several days, however much you want to. If you're not insured or under contract, affording to replace it at such an expensive time of year isn't necessarily easy either.

I don't think it was mentioned when the phone was broke...was it? I only remember reading a quote from her brother that her phone was broke...so she didn't have it.

My point was that alone at 2am isn't a safe move to move around town without one. Not in todays world - it put her in a vulnerable position... unable to track her last movement or call for help...oddly she disappeared.

And is just a red flag for me. Another angle to look at...was it intentional or not?

 

[MountainGal33]

I'm around that age and I'm not glued to my phone. I can go days without and then figure I better check in. I wouldn't panic if my phone broke but I might be annoyed with it for the cost to replace it. But that's maybe not the norm! Imo

Valid. But not common for me I live in NYC - you don't move without one and I see her "age range" glued to them. Maybe because it's urban. It's also a form of communication when plans change etc. I can't imagine going out NYE to meet friends and not have it on me. If plans change/people can't make it/last minute updates/ and safety.

 

[MountainGal33]

It's interesting isn't it? I have all the same feelings. Without the CCTV it's really hard to trust that the sighting is reliable, it's a case of believing that the police are on the case and have asked those questions. Which for anyone who has followed certain cases in recent years, is easier said than done.

The family have been able to apply the kind of pressure to raise the profile of her missing case to the national media level. I think that does lend me confidence that LE are actually investigating rather than dismissing.

But in the absence of any search of that flat, the fact that LE haven't stated the disappearance is suspicious, and the lack of anyone being questioned, we are assuming that the police theory is that she has gone into the water.

They may have other reasons for not sharing more information. But after this amount of time, that strategy begins to seem questionable.

It's true - not enough information has been released. And we are definitely making assumptions - I guess logically because someone just fell off the face of the earth. And the ocean is right there...however - bodies float and wash ashore in time - if that's the case.

A time frame of 8-10am as a last sighting is a lot of time to work with.

Less people at the water at 8am than 10am.

Could she have gone unnoticed if she did walk into the sea?

I doubt that very much only because it's an annual event in this town, AND it seems to me the sea is part of the community. From the videos I watched its also very accessible.

If her intention was to go to the water it wasn't out of the ordinary to anyone...

In NYC where I live - people can disappear into the Hudson unnoticed at the time because the edges of NYC are not frequent places to hang around at 8am. (Unless you are out running)
We don't do the West Side highway where the water is to "hang" in the winter - if I said that to anyone it would be odd... (Unless for a run) (and even then most people run in Central Park because its safer than the waters edges)

Anyways this is me brainstorming my head off...(all imo)

 

[jiminy]

Given she was only going within a street or two of home on the booziest night of the year, I'd honestly not bat an eyelid if she'd left her phone at home even if it wasn't broken. It'd be a fairly prudent move to prevent loss or damage. No streets are entirely safe, obviously, but it's not a high risk area.

 

[MountainGal33]

Given she was only going within a street or two of home on the booziest night of the year, I'd honestly not bat an eyelid if she'd left her phone at home even if it wasn't broken. It'd be a fairly prudent move to prevent loss or damage. No streets are entirely safe, obviously, but it's not a high risk area.

New information shows Edinburgh areas with the highest amount of sex offenders

Not so sure about it not being a high risk area....

 

[RobinCAL]

Edinburgh police continue appeal for information on missing Alice Byrne

 

[katydid23]

Valid. But not common for me I live in NYC - you don't move without one and I see her "age range" glued to them. Maybe because it's urban. It's also a form of communication when plans change etc. I can't imagine going out NYE to meet friends and not have it on me. If plans change/people can't make it/last minute updates/ and safety.

I agree with you. She is the same age as my daughter. If my girl was wanting to leave our house on New Years @ 2 am to go to a friends, I'd have given her my phone to use. I'd really want her to have a way to communicate, since she was on foot, alone.

That's the main reason I think the phone is worrisome. If she was with a friend and/or in a car, it wouldn't be as important. I wish she had taken a family members phone so we wouldn't be sitting here with so many unanswered questions.

 

[katydid23]

Given she was only going within a street or two of home on the booziest night of the year, I'd honestly not bat an eyelid if she'd left her phone at home even if it wasn't broken. It'd be a fairly prudent move to prevent loss or damage. No streets are entirely safe, obviously, but it's not a high risk area.

You may be right---but anytime a woman is out walking alone @ 2 am, and going to a party alone, on the booziest night of the year, she is vulnerable. Not having a phone in her pocket is a big drawback in some situations. JMO

 

[Ruby12345]

Edinburgh police continue appeal for information on missing Alice Byrne

That new appeal definitely makes it seem like they're not assuming she's just gone in the water. <modsnip: referenced FB is not approved>

 

[MintyMerlin]

It's been two week since both Alice Byrne and Dean Conner went missing - here's everything we know so far

Bottom of the article (right at the bottom) is a section that reads:

"Are the cases related?
Following social media speculation, police confirmed on Thursday, January 6, there was no information to suggest the disappearances of Alice and Dean are linked.

Speculation mounted based primarily on the fact that the two went missing within one day of each other."

Oh and the fact that media keep printing articles like this showing their photos right next to each other and stating how they went missing within 24 hours of each other.

Straight faced Emoji.

 

[Doughy]

Realistically where's she gonna be with no clothes, money or shelter. Who's going to harbour someone and keep them fed etc for weeks knowing many people including the police are looking for them?

 

[Beans]

Portobello is often subjected to crowds of teens getting up to mischief on the beach so if the homes and businesses along the Esplanade and streets running down to the beach aren’t full of ring cameras and CCTV I’ll be very very surprised. With that in mind it’s a real worry that they don’t seem to have any idea where she went.

And yes, definitely fewer people around at 8 than 10 but I believe the wild swimmers were already out in the water when the Loony Dookers started to arrive. Between Hogmanay parties, beach parties and early morning swimmers etc I can’t imagine Porty being properly quiet at any point that night through to morning.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

In the latest update from police, Inspector Keith Scott said: “It is out of character for Alice not to keep in contact with her family and friends. We are becoming increasingly concerned for her wellbeing and we are working to trace her as soon as possible to ensure that she is safe and well. Searches and enquiries have been ongoing since she was reported missing, and we are now asking the public for any assistance they can provide.

Here's everything we know so far about missing Alice Byrne as search to enter third week