A dead man and a badly injured woman may have been lying in their crashed car for days after police did not respond to an emergency call.

“Ongoing missing persons search”

On Monday police appealed to members of the public after the couple were reported missing.

Police officers given the task of finding John Yuill, 28, and Lamara Bell, 25, confirmed that they had found a crashed Renault Clio containing a dead man and an injured woman.

The car was found on Wednesday on the southbound M9.

The hunt for the car had been related to an "ongoing missing persons search".

There had been a call to Police Scotland on Sunday morning regarding the crash, but it had not been followed up, the force admitted.

The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) has launched an investigation over the incident.

"We believe that this is connected to the ongoing missing persons search for John Yuill and Lamara Bell.

"It has come to light that a call was made to police late on Sunday morning regarding a car which was reported as being off the road. For reasons currently being investigated, that report was not followed up at the time.

"A full investigation is currently under way to establish the full circumstances of the incident."

– ASSISTANT CHIEF CONSTABLE KATE THOMSON

Mr Yuill and Ms Bell had not been seen since Sunday morning on the shores of Loch Earn, according to friends of the pair.

Police said the disappearance of Yuill and Bell was "completely out of character".