Fears for safety of missing mum grow

FEARS are growing for the safety of a missing mother-of-two, who was last seen three weeks ago, after police revealed her medication will now have run out and she has not withdrawn her wages.

Elizabeth "Betty" Brown's prescribed medication would have ran out on Sunday and her wages have not been touched since being paid into her bank on Tuesday.

Chief Inspector Allison Strachan, one of the officers leading the hunt for the 55-year-old, said she had not used her credit cards or mobile phone since she went missing on 28 May. And she added: "We can't rule out criminality, but hopefully that is not the case."

Ms Brown (or Hunt) was last seen on CCTV getting off a number three Lothian bus in Nicolson Street at 11.55am.

Another investigating officer, Inspector Murray Dykes, said: "The fact that Betty's medication has run out, and her pay has been left untouched is giving us cause for concern, as we are told this is highly unusual."

Ms Brown's sister Maureen McLaughlin, from Gilmerton, said her family were still hoping that she had gone for some "time out" and were "desperate" for her to come forward so they could help her with any personal issues. She told the News her sister had been "very happy" the last time she had seen her, and she did not know what could have caused her to disappear.

"The Friday before she went missing Betty came to my house," said Mrs McLaughlin. "She seemed happy because she was going out with the girls from her work. She called me at about 9.30pm to say she was on the bus home, but I haven't heard from her since. Betty and I have always had a good relationship, but she was a very private person. I didn't know of anything bothering her."

Last Friday police reconstructed the final bus journey that Ms Brown is known to have taken. They spoke to a number of travellers who may have seen Ms Brown before she disembarked from the bus at Nicolson Street. Officers said they are following a number of lines of inquiry.

After Ms Brown got off the bus, it is thought that she could have hailed a taxi. Police are investigating the possibility that she has gone to the Borders, where she used to live.

Ms Brown was last seen wearing a black jacket, open neck blouse, blue jeans and black shoes, and was carrying two large Aldi bags. She is described as 5ft 7in tall, with fair hair and glasses.