Police investigating the disappearance of a couple in their 70s in Groningen province have recovered two bodies from a canal where their boat was moored. One of them is that of a woman, say press reports.

Both bodies are being examined at the scene. The police have given no further information.

The discoveries came after the couple disappeared in suspicious circumstances on Monday afternoon.

The couple had left their home to keep an appointment with a prospective buyer for their boat, which was moored on the Hoendiep at Hoogkerk. When their children heard nothing further from their parents, they called the police, say press reports.

Police went to investigate and found the couple’s empty car at the mooring site, with the doors unlocked and the woman’s handbag still in the car. The boat was gone, but was found a short way away. The couple were not on board.

The Groningen police have called in the national police service and have stopped all movement on the Hoendiep. 

The couple’s home in Aduard is being searched and has been sealed off.