Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Missing sisters traced by police
TWO young Perthshire girls whose disappearance sparked a nationwide search have been traced by police.
Victoria McKinney, from Alyth, made an emotional plea for the return of her two young daughters after they disappeared with their father.
Police officers led a search across Scotland and Northern Ireland for eight-year-old Grace Elizabeth McKinney and her five-year-old sister Kara.
The youngsters were said to have been travelling the country i n a motorhome driven by their father Michael McKinney and his Czech girlfriend Martina.
Police have confirmed the sisters were found safe and well in Larne, Northern Ireland, and were taken into the care of officers.
Mr McKinney is understood to have visitation rights but the girls were reported missing by their mother, on Thursday. She took to social media to plead for help as officers made strenuous efforts to track down the girls.
Tens of thousands of people the length and breadth of the UK and Northern Ireland shared her appeal after it was made public.
Grace and Kara were travelling in a cream coloured Eldis Autoquest motorhome with their father, his girlfriend Martina and a three-year-old child.
Reports had suggested that the group were last seen on a ferry to Larne in Northern Ireland on Thursday.
Caravan enthusiasts were among those who shared details of the girls and the caravan in the hope of tracking them down.
Police Scotland issued a photograph of the sisters (above) to help with the search. Today, a spokesman for the force said: “We can confirm Grace and Kara, who were missing from Perthshire, have been traced safe and well in Northern Ireland.”