Body found on Scots island in search for missing woman, 28, as family informed
A BODY has been found on a Scottish island during the search for a missing woman who vanished two days ago.
Shanahan MacInnes, 28, was reported missing to police after she vanished in the early hours of Friday morning.
She went missing on the Isle of Benbecula, which is an island of the Outer Hebrides.
Shanahan was last seen in the Tindill Road area of Balivanich at around 1.30am.
A frantic search was underway as cops appealed for help from the public to find her over the weekend.
She was last seen wearing a burgundy tracksuit and white trainers with a black Nike tick.
However, it was thought that she had other clothes with her, and may have changed into a black North Face jacket and black trainers with a gold buckle
After cops launched their appeal, Shanahan’s family took to social media to urge people to be on the lookout for her.
They added that she left behind her purse, phone, car and keys and they were becoming increasingly worried about her.
However, police have now tragically confirmed that a body was found during their searches.
They said the grim discovery was made at around 1.05pm this afternoon in the Aird area of Benbecula.
The area is a short walk away from the location where she was last seen.
The body is yet to be formally identified, however, Alice’s family have been informed.
Police added that there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.
Police Scotland’s Highland and Islands division shared a statement about the tragic find on social media this afternoon.
MISSING IN SCOTLAND
ALMOST 15,000 missing person reports are made to Police Scotland every single year.
Most of these cases involve medium-to-high-risk missing persons, however, many more go unreported.
In 2020-2021, half of these reports related to children, and 40 per cent involved a person who had been missing before.
Tragically, 117 cases over these years had fatal outcomes.
This was more than the number of victims involved in homicide across Scotland, which was 58, according to NCA UK Missing Persons data 2020-2021.
The data also found that most of the harm suffered by missing adults and Scotland is related to problems with mental health.
It read: “Around 1.05pm on Sunday, 24 November 2024, officers were made aware that a body of a woman had been found in the Aird area of Benbecula.
“Formal identification has still to take place.
“However the family of 28-year-old Shanahan MacInnes, who was missing from Balivanich, has been made aware.
“The death is not being treated as suspicious.
“A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”