Greek island skeleton could solve mystery of missing Scotswoman Diane Davison

The discovery of a skeleton on a Greek island is being linked the disappearance of a woman from Scotland two years ago.

Diane Davison, who has family in the Falkirk area, had been living in her car and a cave on Rhodes and was suffering from dementia when she vanished.

The 60-year-old had worked on the holiday island but lost her job and home as she struggled with her health. Ms Davison was also involved with animal rescue charities.

She was relying on aid payments and handouts from generous locals and tourists when she was reported missing from the holiday resort of Faliraki in January 2020.

Diane Davison's formal Greek identity card and driving licence.

The case took a new twist on Sunday when a woman's skeleton was found by a hunter in a mountainous region of Rhodes.

Island police believe the remains are those of Ms Davison and have carried out a forensic recovery prior to attempting to confirmed their identity.

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The emergency services were called to the hills between Psinthos, Maritsa and Kalithies after the discovery was made on Saturday and local sources say the description of the remains and the clothing found with them match Miss Davison, who was officially last seen alive in December 2019.

Mystery solved? Missing Diane Davison

She had worked in the tourist industry until 2016, when she was made redundant during the Greek economic crisis.

Ms Davison then sold her possessions to feed stray dogs and cats and ended up living rough in her car and taking shelter in a cave.

She was receiving a poverty aid handout of 160 euros a month from the Greek government, as well as food parcels. She turned down an offer of help from the British Consulate and became more isolated as her health deteriorated, according to local sources on Rhodes.

The alarm was raised over her disappearance after she failed to collect a food parcel due to her from the Municipality of Rhodes and subsequent searches turned up no trace of her..

Social media appeals were made by her friends on the ‘Missing in Rhodes’ Facebook page urging her to get in touch, describing Ms Davison as being ‘kind-hearted and devoted to animals’. But further searches around Faliraki failed to lead anywhere and they were called off.

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Ms Davison had been trying to raise money for a shelter for abandoned animals, but claimed she had been threatened with prosecution and breach of her tenancy agreement for keeping strays at her home, which she claimed infringed her ‘civil rights as an animal lover'.

As her mental health deteriorated she suffered memory loss and was last seen by an expat friend seeking medical attention at the accident and emergency department in a hospital in Faliraki in November 2019.

A cause of death has not yet been established as the body was so badly decomposed. It is understood the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is in contact with the Greek authorities and Ms Davison's family.

If her identity is proven it is expected arrangements will be made for her remains to be repatriated.

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