Police follow up mobile phone clue in hunt for financial adviser who owes thousands

Police searching for a missing financial adviser who owes tens of thousands of pounds have been interviewing people near the spot where her mobile phone was found in a bin.

Lynda Spence, 27, has not been seen since 13 April, when she left her parents' house.

She also uses the surnames Zefaj, Palmer and Reilly. Police believe she is either hiding from people she owes money to, or has been harmed by them.

Ms Spence ran a business, Fraser Developments, which mainly arranged mortgages. But recently it had got into trouble when several deals fell through.

Det Supt Alan Buchanan, who is leading the investigation for Strathclyde police, said she was "in severe financial difficulty", owing money to several people.He said: "This may have caused Lynda to disappear in an attempt to avoid these people.

"Equally, it may have resulted in her coming to harm at the hands of those who blame her for them losing money."

He said he thinks certain people know what has happened to Ms Spence but are reluctant to come forward.

Yesterday officers interviewed passers-by in Holmhead in Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, to try to find out more about her phone.

Found in a wheelie bin outside a shop, the phone had not been used by Ms Spence for several weeks. Police think it was put there between 11am and 1pm on 2 June.