Blood link sparks death fear

Police are anxious to trace a white Nissan

Police investigating the disappearance of a missing woman have said they fear she may be dead after her blood was found in a car.

Louise Tiffney, 43, went missing on 27 May, four days after her son, Sean Flynn, admitted causing the deaths of his cousin and best friend by dangerous driving.

Detectives have now confirmed they are treating the Edinburgh woman's disappearance as suspicious after the car was found in the city and forensic tests were carried out.

A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said officers were conducting a criminal inquiry but it could not be regarded as murder as no body has been found.

It is obviously a very difficult time for them, not least Louise's six-year-old daughter who she doted on

DI Peter Avent
Lothian and Borders Police

Detective Inspector Peter Avent said officers were keen to hear from anyone who saw the car on the day Louise disappeared from the home in Dean Path, Stockbridge, where she lived with her son.

Sean Flynn was sentenced to three years and nine months in a young offenders institution last month following the crash in which a high-powered BMW hit a lampost in Mid Calder before bursting into flames.

DI Avent said: "As a routine part of the investigation we had forensic tests done on the white Nissan Almera.

Louise Tiffney: "Kind and generous"

"The tests found blood in the car which was later confirmed to be Louise Tiffney's.

"While the focus of the investigation has not changed in that we are still trying to find Loiuse, the nature has changed to a more sinister one and it is now a criminal inquiry.

"I visited the family personally and they are all extremely distressed to hear this.

"It is obviously a very difficult time for them, not least Louise's six-year-old daughter who she doted on.

"We would like to hear from anyone who saw the Nissan Almera in the area of Dean Path on the evening of 27 May."

Louise's family have said that her disappearance was out of character because she was "so kind and generous and always thinking about the rest of the family's feelings".