By Cara Sulieman
THE FAMILY of missing Scottish mum Elizabeth McVey spoke about the pain her disappearance has caused them for the first time today (Tues).
Michael and Lynsey McVey have been tirelessly joining police and other members of the community in the search for the avid church-goer – known to her friends as Libby.
Her husband said that the week since she went missing has been “awful” and her daughter called for the council worker to get in touch to let them know she’s okay.
“Really nice”
Michael said: “She’s bright, vibrant, helpful. She always thinks of others before herself.
“She’s just full of life, great fun. She’s adventurous and loves to do things, walks, cycling, that sort of thing.
“She’s always checking with people to see how they are. Sometimes if people are on their own, she’ll just give them a little ring, see how they are, that sort of thing.
“She just generally cares about people all the time, she’s really nice.”
Lynsey added: “She’s just the person you can always go to, the person that everybody phones and the person that everybody likes to have on a night out.
“On holidays, my Mum’s the person you want to be with. She’s very bubbly. You see when she’s walking, she’s always bouncing about, just a really nice person.”
“Really awful”
Talking about the effect the disappearance has had on the family – including her son Mark – Michael said: “It’s hard to put into words. My life’s been torn out of me.
“I feel so low and I’m just trying to hold it together for the kids. It’s been awful. Really awful.
“I just hope that she sees this. I don’t want to make her upset, but I just hope that she sees this and comes home. And I know that she’ll be embarrassed about the whole thing.
“She didn’t like fuss, even though she was out there doing things for everybody else. I just hope that she would just let us know where she is and if she feels she needs a break.”
Lynsey added that the family just want to hear that Libby is okay, adding: “I’d just like her to get someone to contact us to let us know she’s okay. That’s the main thing.
“If she can come home, that’s great, but I just need to know that she’s safe and she’s well and she’s doing okay.
“We just want somebody, if it’s mum or somebody who knows her, to give us a phone and let us know.
“We just need to know she’s safe really.”
“People love her”
Libby’s family said that they knew she was well-liked in the Musselburgh area, but hadn’t realised how many people she had touched.
Michael said that the huge response from the local community had been a boost to the family.
He said: “I don’t think she’s ever realised how valuable she is and how well thought of she is.
“She always kind of thought, well, it’s just me, but you can see from the support she’s had this week, which has been absolutely overwhelming, that people love her. They’ve said that openly.
“They had a service in the church this week and they had a candlelit gathering and pauses for readings in support of Libby.
“I think she would have loved to have seen that, but would have been very embarrassed about it as well.
“The support has been absolutely fantastic, a huge help. They’ve been in every day, we’ve hardly had a minute on our own. The support has been overwhelming. It’s invaluable. We needed it and it’s been absolutely fantastic.”
Pyjamas
Libby was reported missing from her home in Eskview Road Musselburgh in the early hours of last Monday, March 22 by her family.
Police have had specialist search teams and mounted patrols out looking for the mum-of-two.
They are particularly keen to track down two people who are thought to have spoken to the council worker at around 6am on Sunday March 21 at Musselburgh Harbour.
The last time Libby was seen was around 12.30am at her home before she was reported missing by relatives seven hours later.
The 50-year-old had been wearing sky blue pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt when she was last seen, but her husband told police he was unsure if anything was missing from her wardrobe.
Mrs McVey was described 4ft 11ins tall with collar-length fair hair and a fresh complexion, of average build, and possibly wearing glasses.
A police spokesman said: “We are keen for any fresh information that can help shed any light on Elizabeth’s movements in the day leading up to her disappearance, and of course any sightings of her since she went missing.
“We believe that Elizabeth may have spoken to two people who were in the area of Musselburgh Harbour early on Sunday morning, and we are keen to speak to them.
“Anyone else who has any other information that can assist our inquiries should also get in touch.”
Anyone with any information was asked to Lothian and Borders Police on 0131 311 3131 urgently.
