A woman living in Belfast has expressed her grief after her daughter was found dead in Scotland after her online gaming friends contacted police.
Lauren Black, 36, was discovered at her house in the Scottish town of Renfrew on Tuesday after gamers she regularly played with online raised concern for her safety.
She failed to log onto the video game, Evony: The Kings Return, for 48 hours, and her unusual absence raised concern.
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Her gaming friends said it was odd for 'Val - what the the mum-of-two was referred to online - to be off the game for so long.
Eyal Elhadad, an online friend from Israel, said he had called Scottish police after suspecting something was wrong.
The 51-year-old told the Daily Record : "Lauren and I have spoken every day for the last four years, so for her not to answer my messages or log onto the game was very worrying to me and other online family members.
"It was very out of character for Lauren. We exchanged messages on New Year's Day and then there was no further communication.
"After not being able to get in contact for almost two days I had no choice but to call the police in Scotland and also her dog walker.
“I pleaded with them to check on her as we were all so worried. I just wanted to know she was okay."
Police are now looking into Lauren's death, which they are currently treating as “unexplained”.
Iris Black, Lauren’s mum who lives in Northern Ireland, said: "I am beyond devastated by what has happened.
"Our family are just so glad we were able to spend Christmas with Lauren. Her health has been in decline for a while now and we think it might be as a result of Long Covid.
"The full details of what happened have yet to be made clear to us."
Lauren's uncle Ivan, who is helping to look after her twin sons, said: "I am in disbelief at what has happened to be honest.
“It's so hard to take in and we know dealing with what's happened is going to be a long road ahead.
"Lauren was totally dedicated to her boys and our family's priority right now is making sure they are okay."
Eyal said he, along with many of Lauren's other gaming friends, now hope to travel to Scotland to attend her funeral.
He added: "I was devastated when I found out she had died. I couldn't believe it. I still can't.
"So many of us want to pay our respects. People are willing to travel hundreds of miles to say goodbye to Lauren. She was so loved and liked."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said this week: “We were made aware of the death of a woman at a property on Edgar Crescent in Renfrew around 10.10am on Tuesday, January 3.
“The death is being treated as unexplained and enquiries are ongoing.”
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