TRIBUTES have been paid to an Erskine woman whose body was found just two days after she went missing.

The grim discovery was made in Arrochar, near Loch Lomond, as police searched for 51-year-old care worker Karen Hughes.

Officers had appealed for help to trace Karen after she went missing on January 2.

However, the search was called off on Thursday as it was announced a body had been found.

Colleagues at Erskine Park Home, which cares for veterans who have struggled to return to civilian life, are among those to pay tribute to Karen, who worked there for more than a decade.

Director of care Derek Barron told The Gazette: “Karen was a kind, compassionate person who was much respected by residents, relatives and her colleagues.

“She will be sorely missed as a member of the Erskine Park Home family, which she had been a part of for more than 10 years.”

Police carried out searches in Argyll and West Dunbartonshire after Karen disappeared, while thousands shared an appeal on social media in a bid to trace her.

It was the second time in two years that Karen had gone missing after Hogmanay celebrations, with a previous appeal for information being issued back in January 2016.

Police have confirmed that her death is not suspicious.

Tributes have poured in on Facebook, with friends and colleagues describing Karen as a “caring, quiet and respectful” woman.

Sharon McLafferty said: “Although I only had the honour of working with Karen for a short while, I remember what a genuine, hard-working, polite and caring person she was.

“A woman who just got on with it and never complained.”

William McGinty added: “Karen Hughes was a neighbour of myself and family. She was a quiet, respectful and altogether lovely woman. God bless her family at this time.”