A girl whose parents disappeared after going shopping a week before Christmas has appealed for them to come home.

Cleaner Ann Marie Aitken, 19, last saw her mother and father when they set off from their home in Aberfoyle, Stirlingshire, to go shopping in Glasgow.

Central Scotland Police have begun a major search for the couple, Roderick and Ann Marie Aitken, who are both 48.

"They said, 'We'll see you later,'" Miss Aitken told a news conference in central Scotland.

Ann Marie Aitken: appealed for parents' return

Tearfully, she described the growing concern she and her 13-year-old brother share about their parents' well-being.

"I just want them to come home because we miss them," she said.

"The longer it goes on, I just think they are not coming back."

The family had booked a Christmas holiday in Cyprus, but the tickets were never collected.

Miss Aitken did not report them missing until Boxing Day as she thought they would come back.

Detective Chief Superintendent John Ogg said the last time anyone had heard from the couple was at 7.30pm on December 18 when Mr Aitken called a friend from Glasgow on his mobile phone.

He added: "The search is extensive and began on the ground in Aberfoyle and has been working outwards. The Strathclyde police helicopter has made several trips from Glasgow to Aberfoyle along the route the Aitkens are thought to have travelled."

The family car, a purple-blue Vauxhall Astra with the registration N370 PHS, is also missing.

Police now hope to gain a fresh lead into the case by examining the couple's bank statements and financial records.
 

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