POLICE investigating the death of a six-year-old girl on a Scottish island have arrested a man on suspicion of murder.
Alesha MacPhail was reported missing from her grandmother’s home in Rothesay on the Isle of Bute at 6.25am on Monday morning.
Her body was found by a member of the public less than a mile away in a wooded area in Ardbeg Road at 9am.
The schoolgirl was visiting for a three-week holiday at the time and had only been on the island for a few days.
Despite the development, Detective Superintendent Stuart Houston of Police Scotland urged anyone with information to come forward.
“The response to our earlier public appeals has been significant,” he said.
“However, despite this evening’s 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.”
Earlier today police seized a car in relation to the murder investigation and a cat was removed from the home of Alesha's grandmother.
Bute has an area of just over 120km² and a population of about 7,200.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact the incident room via 101 quoting incident number 0695 of Monday, July 2, 2018.
