A body was recovered from the River Tay on Thursday as the search for a missing Kenmore woman came to a grim end.
Emergency services had been scouring Highland Perthshire for three days in an effort to trace Wilma Carlin.
The search finished abruptly as a car was spotted in water, around a mile west of Aberfeldy, shortly after 2pm.
Ms Carlin’s family, who were in the area making their own private searches, were informed a short time later.
The discovery of the car sparked a huge emergency service operation, with units from across Tayside sent into Highland Perthshire.
Specialist water rescue teams were deployed from Perth alongside numerous police and fire units and paramedic crews.
The A827 road between Aberfeldy and Kenmore was closed in both directions to allow the emergency operation to take place.
Unfortunately there was little the assembled units could do other than recover the body and car from the river.
Police Scotland soon confirmed the worst possible news, with a spokesman saying: “We can confirm that the body of a woman and car have been found near to the Aberfeldy area.
“The family of missing person Wilma Carlin have been informed.”
Wilma Carlin. Ms Carlin was reported missing on Tuesday.The day had begun with officers carrying out door-to-door inquiries in Aberfeldy in an effort to glean more information about Ms Carlin’s disappearance.
They spoke to numerous local people who were keen to assist in any way possible.
Ms Carlin, of Kenmore, was first reported missing by her concerned family on Tuesday having last been seen that morning in the Aberfeldy area.
A CCTV image of the 60-year-old in the town’s Davidsons chemist shop was released by police on Wednesday in a bid to help trace her.
A helicopter was drafted in by Police Scotland on Wednesday to enable teams to scour the area from the air.
It was in operation again on Thursday, casting an eye over miles of rural roads and rugged landscape without success.
At the time, Ms Carlin’s silver Citreon DS3 car was seen to be key to the investigation with the public being urged to look out for it.
She was known to be a keen hillwalker and it had been thought that might have played a part in her disappearance.
Police Scotland has not confirmed how the car eventually came to be found in the most tragic of circumstances.
It is likely she was travelling home from Aberfeldy when the vehicle entered the water, minutes after leaving the town on Tuesday.
Police Scotland said the A827 was likely to remain closed to all traffic for some time while investigations into the cause of the death were carried out.
