Remains found on Greek island may be missing Scottish woman
Friends pay tribute to 60-year-old who lived in cave as she tried to help dogs
A SKELETON found in a mountainous region of the Greek island of Rhodes may finally have solved the mystery of the disappearance of a Scots woman in 2020.
Diane Davison, 60, had been living rough in a beach-side cave and her car after losing her job and home, and was struggling with her mental health.
She was relying on aid payments and handouts before being reported missing from the holiday resort of Faliraki in January 2020.
A woman’s skeleton was found by a hunter on Saturday and police believe the remains are those of Miss Davison, who was originally from Falkirk.
Yesterday her devastated friends paid tribute. One said: ‘We are all in absolute bits.’
One poignant post read: ‘I’m sorry I failed you. You would never have failed me. My heart is broken.’ A funeral and memorial service are planned for Miss Davison on the island once formal identification has taken place. She had moved to Rhodes in 2004 to pursue her dream of a life in the sun.
Police and the Rhodes Fire Service were called to the inaccessible spot in the hills between Psinthos, Maritsa and Kalithies after the discovery was made.
The remains were taken to Rhodes Hospital for a post mortem examination.
The description of the dead woman and her clothing is understood to match Miss Davison.
The last sighting of her was believed to have been in December 2019.
Miss Davison had been working at several jobs in the tourist industry until 2016, when she was made redundant during the Greek economic crisis.
She also dedicated her time to helping animals, and sold her possessions to feed stray dogs and cats. She lost her accommodation after taking in abandoned animals and was living rough. Friends said she had been sleeping in a car in Faliraki, and she had also spent time sheltering in a cave.
Miss Davison was receiving a poverty aid handout of 160 euros a month from the Greek government, as well as food parcels.
Assistance had been offered to her by the British Consulate General but she had not taken it up, and friends said she could be ‘difficult to help’.
An alert had been issued over her disappearance after she failed to collect a food parcel due to her from the Municipality of Rhodes.
Social media appeals were made by her friends urging her to get in touch, and she was described as being kind-hearted and devoted to animals. Searches around Faliraki found no trace of her.
She had been trying to raise money for a shelter for abandoned animals, but claimed she had been threatened with prosecution for keeping too many strays at her home. She posted angry messages on social media in 2013 railing at the Greek authorities for infringing her ‘civil rights as an animal lover’.
Miss Davison’s mental health is understood to have deteriorated when she lost her home about three years before she vanished.
She suffered memory loss and other health issues prior to her disappearance. A friend had seen her at the accident and emergency department in a hospital in Faliraki in November 2019.
A cause of death has not yet been established as the body was so badly decomposed. It is understood the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is in contact with the Greek authorities and Miss Davison’s family.
‘I’m sorry I failed you. My heart is broken’