By Cara Sulieman
THE worried parents of Edinburgh woman Suzanne Pilley today (Tues) urged people to help them find their daughter – as police forensic teams joined the hunt for the missing bookkeeper.
Anxious Robert and Sylvia Pilley, from Stenhouse, called in police after their daughter never showed for work last Tuesday (May 4) failed to contact any family or friends later.
Detectives say they are now “gravely concerned” for missing Suzanne and called in specialist teams to help.
“Hope”
Breaking their silence, Suzanne’s dad Robert, 67, said: “The family is very upset at the moment. We would have heard from her by now.
“It’s right out of character for her.
“She’s always texting and calling her mum and we have not heard anything from her at all since she went missing.
“We just hope somebody gets in touch with the police. It is in the hands of the police now.
“There’s not much else we can say.”
They have been unable to get in touch with her despite frantically trying – and say they are distraught waiting for news.
Thistle Street
Sylvia, 67, added: “We just hope somebody has seen something.”
Their plea came as Lothian and Borders Police stepped up their appeal for witnesses and deployed highly trained teams to help search for any clue as to what happened to her.
Officers out in force in St Andrews Square, just metres away from where the 38-year-old was last seen on her way to work.
Standing in front of a giant screen projecting images of the bookkeeper’s last known movements they stopped everyone who walked past in an attempt to speak to potential witnesses.
At the same time forensic teams were also searching the garages and empty offices below Infrastructure Managers Ltd where Suzanne worked on Thistle Street.
Police have now released video footage of her getting off the No4 bus outside department store Jenners and coming out of Sainsbury’s on Rose Street at 8.51am.
“Gravely concerned”
What happened to her after that remains a mystery.
Police said Suzanne was single and lived by herself just around the corner from her family in the Stenhouse area of Edinburgh.
Today (Tues), officers admitted that they were now “gravely concerned” for the 38-year-old.
She hasn’t used her bank cards since she went missing and no-one is known to have heard from her.
Detective Chief Inspector Gary Flannigan, leading the investigation, said: “We are now gravely concerned for the safety of Suzanne.
“Her last known contact with anyone was last Tuesday at around 8.30am.
“Her family and close associates are telling us that it is completely out of character for her not to be in touch.
“Her family are devastated by this disappearance.
“A large team has carried out extensive inquiries in the last week, and I have to say there are strong indications that a criminal act could account for Suzanne’s disappearance.
“She was within minutes and 100m of her office but never reported for work.
“It was the first day back at work after the May Bank holiday weekend, and I am hoping we will be able to jog their memories.
“She is an avid texter and is normally in regular contact with her parents. It is also unusual for her not to let her employer know if she is not coming in for work.
“Suzanne was following her usual routine and everything appeared to be normal until those last few minutes of her journey to her office.”
“Fit and healthy”
The bookkeeper had worked with Infrastructure Managers for around a year, and was following what was believed to be her usual routine as she headed to the office last week.
DCI Flannigan added: “She’s a fit and healthy individual. There is no history of depression and no indication that anything was wrong.”
Officers are now gathered yet more CCTV footage to recover from buildings around St Andrew’s square and Thistle Street.
Police are hoping that they will then be able to piece together what happened to Suzanne.
Anyone who can help with information on her whereabouts was urged to contact 0131 311 3131.
