An elderly Mearns woman was feared dead on Thursday after fire tore through a cottage near Fettercairn, destroying the building.
Grampian Police were unable to confirm if the woman, named locally as Jane Murray, was inside her home at Hillhead Cottage, Balfour, when the roof collapsed early on Thursday.
The force launched a joint investigation with Grampian Fire and Rescue, but due to the unstable nature of the building it took several hours before either set of officers could safely gain access.
Residents were holding their breath in the hope the woman was yet to return from a trip away.
The small cottage at the end of a row of three adjoined buildings was almost completely demolished by the blaze, which began shortly before midnight on Wednesday.
The entire roof space caved in, with just a few charred pan-tiles remaining on either side of the end walls of the property.
Both the front windows and the door were destroyed by the fire and large piles of rubble and other debris were visible from behind the police cordon.
Two CID officers were at the cottage on Thursday morning to begin sifting through the remains of the shell.
A strong smell of burnt wood and mortar hung in the air alongside morning fog as police searched the perimeter of the house and the garden.Remote locationA scenes of crime officer was called from Inverurie to handle the investigation, arriving around lunchtime.
Uniformed officers were stationed outside the cottage, with the road leading past the front of the building cordoned off to traffic.
Grampian Fire and Rescue Aberdeen city commander David Rout said a meeting with investigators was held at 1pm to go over the morning’s findings.
He said his team of fire investigators had arrived at the scene around 11.30am, however progress had been limited until the building had been made safe.
Mr Rout said, “We arrived at the scene at around midnight and at that time the building was well alight and the fire was well established.
“We had appliances from Brechin, Laurencekirk and Inverbervie at the scene and a water carrier from Stonehaven in use due to the remote location.”Village’s supportIt took around an hour and a half for firefighters to bring the blaze under control, finally extinguishing the flames at 1.30am.
The cottage is around three miles outside Fettercairn off a bumpy single track road that leads up through fields.
Fettercairn resident Jessie Cassie said, “We are all just hoping that she went away and wasn’t in the house.
“I know she goes away for Christmas and New Year so we can only hope that is what has happened.”
She added, “She would help anybody and was well known in the village and she quite often goes on the bus through to Montrose to go to Tesco.
“She is a very nice lady and very friendly.”
A staff member at Fettercairn Post Office said the whole village was “rooting for her to be found.”