Girl, 6, who vanished on Scottish isle found dead in the woods
THE body of a six-yearold girl was found on the site of an abandoned hotel yesterday just hours after she was reported missing.
Alesha MacPhail had disappeared from her bed at her grandparents’ flat on the Scottish Isle of Bute.
A search was launched at 6.25am with neighbours checking their sheds and garages.
Alesha’s father, islander Robert MacPhail, 25, was seen with officers during the morning search, asking if anybody had seen his daughter. Neighbours said he was ‘white as a sheet’ and calling her name.
Her mother, Georgina Lochrane, was not with her at the time she went missing. It is thought Alesha lived in Lanarkshire and was spending part of the summer holidays on the isle.
Her body was found by a member of the public at around 9am in woodland close to the former Kyles of Bute Hydropathic Hotel in Port Bannatyne – less than half a mile away.
Police said the death was unexplained and launched a major investigation. Her grandparents’ flat in Ardbeg near Rothesay – the main town on the island – was cordoned off.
A path leading to the site of the former hotel was also sealed off by police. It is understood that the little girl was staying with her father and grandparents Calum MacPhail, 49, and Angela King, 46, who had posted an appeal on Facebook after she went missing.
‘Alesha has gone missing from our house please help look for her,’ Mrs King wrote alongside a picture of the little girl.
Another relative said she had gone missing from her bed.
The Isle of Bute in the Firth of Clyde is home to around 6,500.
Schools in Scotland broke up for summer last week, and Bute – 40 miles west of Glasgow – is a popular holiday destination.
Islanders expressed their shock yesterday, while well wishers left tributes at the scene.
Detective Superintendent Stuart Houston, from Police Scotland’s major investigation team, said: ‘This death of a sixyear-old child has shocked the tight-knit community of Rothesay and it is imperative that we find out what has happened.
‘I would like to speak to anyone who was involved in that search who have not yet been spoken to by the police. I must reiterate that this death is still being treated as unexplained at this time, however I would like to reassure the public that this type of incident is rare.’
One local who knows Alesha’s grandmother and arrived with her family to lay flowers said: ‘The whole of the Island of Bute is in complete shock.
‘Alesha’s father Robert is just a brilliant guy and worshipped the ground she walked on. They were happy together. This doesn’t happen here.
‘We are a close-knit community and it takes five minutes for news to spread here.
‘The whole community will stand together, I know that. That is what the island is like.’
June McKenzie, who lives near Alesha’s grandmother, was one of those searching for the girl. She said: ‘We were woken up at 7am and we were told she was missing, could we look for her.
‘I looked in the garage and workshop and we saw that the search and rescue helicopter was out. I can’t believe it. Her poor parents and gran. It’s just appalling.’