Recluse Margaret Fleming ‘not seen since 1999’ has been receiving £300-a-week benefits for years and claim for MORE cash sparked missing person probe
Friends of Margaret's carers said they had never heard them talk about the young woman while she was living with them
A WOMAN who was last seen 17 years ago was only realised to be missing after benefits officials tried to visit her - and couldn't find her.
Vulnerable Margaret Fleming had been receiving thousands of pounds in benefits over the years but when the Department of Work and Pensions received an application for more payments, officers headed to her home in Inverkip.
The DWP was unable to find Margaret, who has learning difficulties, at the home of her carers Edward Cairney and Avril Jones, the Daily Record reported.
It was from there that Margaret, 36, was reported missing to police, who visited the home on October 28, 2016.
Detectives have since found no evidence that anyone but the couple Cairney, 75, and Avril, 56, had seen her since 1999 sparking a huge investigation that included ripping up half the junk-strewn garden.
Vulnerable Margaret, 36, was last spotted in public at a Christmas bash hosted by a relative of her helpers Eddie Cairney and Avril Jones in 1999.
The pair claim they last spoke to ex-student Margaret — who has learning difficulties — when she left the remote home six weeks ago.
But while the couple said she led a secret private life, police have admitted that "something sinister" may have happened to her.
Photographs of the home were taken by a drone 1,000ft above the home of missing Margaret's carers, showing the extensive search effort conducted by police.
The aerial pics also reveal a room at the back of the rundown property had its frontage torn off as the fingertip search continues.
The couple are the last people to have seen Margaret, 36, after she moved into their home - yards from the Firth of Clyde in Inverkip, Renfrewshire - following a family bust-up 17 years ago.
But detectives fear she may have been killed in 1999, when she was 19.
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A former business associate of the pair said they had an active social life but dropped off the radar when their hotel, the Castle Levan in Gourock, went bust in the 1990s.
He said: “I remember Eddie being the life and soul of the party back then and everybody seemed to know him.
“I still remember his 50th birthday party at the hotel, which at that time was a good-going business.
“He wasn’t short of money. But when the hotel closed you didn’t see him around so much.”
Official documents show Avril was a director of the hotel from 1988. There is no mention of Eddie, but our source said it was “very much” his business.
He said Eddie’s late wife Margaret was around at that time but said it was “common knowledge” that he was in a relationship with worker Avril.
And he told of his shock to discover the couple’s connection with Margaret’s case.
He went on: “I’m sure Eddie had health problems and trouble with his lungs, which I think was connected to his deep-sea diving.
“After the hotel closed, they moved to Inverkip and I don’t recall seeing Eddie around after that, which is going back maybe 20 years or more.
“I’ve bumped into Avril a few times down the town and the last time I saw her she was walking with sticks.”
He went on: “I had never heard of Margaret Fleming until I read her name in the paper. I only took a passing interest in it because I didn’t recognise her pic.
“When I heard it was connected to Avril and Eddie, I was amazed.
“I knew they lived near where police are searching but had no idea that it was their house.
“I only remember them as being nice people. Eddie was a big, strong guy but I wouldn’t say he was a bad guy. Avril was friendly and polite but quieter.”
Raffaele Chessa — also listed as an ex-director of the hotel — said he too only found out about Avril and Eddie’s involvement in the riddle after hearing about it on the news.
At his home in Greenock, he said: “I think the last time I saw them was in Lidl two or three years ago. I’ve had no contact with them.”
The intense activity at the house came as cops ramped up their efforts to find anyone who can shed light on the baffling case.
DCI Paul Livingstone said he is keen to speak to anyone who had business links with the couple — or even made grub deliveries to the house — as cops try to crack the mystery.
“A few people have said they visited the house where she is believed to stay at with her carers in Inverkip.
“I’m keen to speak to anyone else who has visited the home, socially or for business, as they may have seen or heard something that could help us.
“It could be someone making a shopping or takeaway delivery, or doing building work on the premises. I’m really keen for anyone to get in touch.”
Police yesterday distributed leaflets in Inverkip and Margaret’s Port Glasgow hometown to try to jog memories.
DCI Livingstone added: “Officers will continue to work to piece together more detail on her background.”
The search for Margaret, who has learning difficulties, was launched six weeks ago after Eddie and Avril reported her missing when police visited the cottage to follow up on a social services inquiry.
Since then the operation has mushroomed as force sources fear she has “come to harm”.
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