ALESHA MURDER POLICE ARREST BOY,16
Teenager held two days after body of six-year-old was found on Isle of Bute
A BOY of 16 was last night arrested on suspicion of murdering Alesha MacPhail.
The six-year-old’s body was found in woodland on the Isle of Bute on Monday. She had been reported missing that morning.
Last night, Detective Superintendent Stuart Houston said: “Despite this major development,
I am still appealing for anyone who was in the Ardbeg Road area of Bute on Sunday night or in the early hours of Monday and who may have information about Alesha’s death to contact us.
“Anyone who has CCTV at their home or business, or indeed any motorists with dashcam footage which might help with our investigation are also urged to get in touch.”
Alesha went missing while she was staying with her dad Robert MacPhail and her grandparents Angela King, 46, and Calum MacPhail, 49, in their home at Port Bannatyne, near Rothesay.
Yesterday, officers scoured the area around the flat for clues and forensic teams spent a second day in the property.
Police confirmed a “number of items”, including two cars, had been seized as part of the investigation into Alesha’s murder.
The cars were removed by a recovery truck and taken to the mainland.
Yesterday, the tight-knit community on Bute said they feared the island would never be the same.
Reverend John Owain Jones, of the United Church of Bute, said Alesha’s death would now form part of the island’s history.
He added: “It’s ghastly. You can’t comprehend it.
“It’s one of those things that will never go away. It will never be forgotten.
“We are stunned. I was clinging to the hope that this was a tragic