ON MONDAY, officers in East Lothian traced two young people who had been reported missing from Musselburgh on Friday.

Both were found safe and well and I am grateful to members of the public in the north of England and locally who had responded to media appeals over the last few days which ultimately led my officers to finding both young people on a bus in the Musselburgh area.

Both have since been reunited with their families.

Police Scotland respond to reports of missing persons on a daily basis, with over 3,300 reports being received across Scotland this year alone. In East Lothian, we have investigated 75 missing person reports since January 1 this year, with the youngest being nine and the oldest 84.

Thankfully, we are able to find most people in a matter of hours or days but, occasionally, despite lengthy investigations, we are unable to find traces of the missing person, which can cause anguish to families and loved ones.

Details of missing persons are found on the front page of the Police Scotland website, which includes local man Dean Conner, who has been missing since December 31, 2021.

Children and young people feature regularly as missing persons and I would urge parents and carers to ensure they know the names and addresses of friends their children spend their time with rather than just relying on mobile phone numbers.

We also see older people, particularly those living with dementia, being reported missing and such cases can expose the individual to a high level of risk.

We have the Herbert Protocol in place to assist the police and other agencies quickly and safely locate missing persons who have dementia.

Families of a person with the condition are asked to download the Herbert Protocol form from the Police Scotland website and provide information such as places of importance to them, often-visited places, health issues and places they have been found in the past if reported missing.