Family of tragic Crieff pensioner pay tribute to search team

The family of a tragic Crieff pensioner whose body was found on New Year’s Day have paid tribute to the search team that tried to find her.

Euphemia ‘Effie’ Clark, 84, went missing from the Dalnaglar Care Home in the Strathearn town around 6.15pm on Hogmanay but sadly she was found dead elsewhere in Crieff the following day.

Mrs Clark was originally from Dalkeith but had moved to the care home to be near her family in Perthshire. She had lived at Dalnaglar for 18 months.

A concerted search took place when it was announced that Mrs Clark had gone missing, and this included using a helicopter to fly over St Mary’s Walk and Laggan Hill in Crieff.

Kitty MacLarty, Mrs Clark’s daughter, who lives in Comrie, praised the emergency services and the local community for their help in the search.

“We want to say thank you to everyone who helped with the search for mum after she went missing from the care home,” she said.

“The family are overwhelmed by the support we’ve been given, and especially by the professionalism and compassion shown to us by local police officers and Police Scotland as a whole in their determined efforts to find Effie.

“It was a great comfort to know that every effort was being made to find my mum at such a dreadful time. I’d like to pass my heartfelt thanks to everyone involved.”

Balhousie Care Group, who run Dalnaglar Care Home, are working with the Care Inspectorate and Perth and Kinross Council to help “any further investigations.”

A spokesperson said they are “deeply saddened” by the death.