POLICE in Glasgow are extending the scope of their search for missing Cork student Karen Buckley.
The 24-year-old nursing student has been missing since the early hours of Sunday morning, and was last seen on CCTV leaving Sanctuary nightclub at 1am.
The air support unit, underwater unit, specialist crime division and police dogs have been brought into the search in the Dawsholm Park area, where Ms Buckley's handbag was found in a bin yesterday.
Detective Superintendent Jim Kerr, of Greater Glasgow Police, today said:
"Our absolute priority is to find Karen Buckley. We have a team of specialist search officers from the west and east working in the area as well as additional patrols in the west end and north of the city."
Ms Buckley, a student at Glasgow Caledonian University, was out with friends in the popular student nightclub when she left them to go to the bathroom, but she never returned.
She was seen leaving the premises with a man, who has been interviewed by police in Glasgow and has been ruled out as a suspect in her disappearance.
It is believed she accompanied the young man to his Dorchester Avenue home before leaving at around 4am to return to her Hill Street flat on foot – which was four miles away.
Police have said they are “gravely concerned” for Ms Buckley’s wellbeing, and her parents Marian and John have flown to from Cork to Glasgow as the search widens.
In a press conference yesterday, Ms Buckley’s distraught mother appealed for the safe return of their daughter.
“We just want Karen home safely, we are desperate. She is our only daughter, we love her dearly. If anybody has any information please come forward, we would dearly appreciate it,” she said.
Ms Buckley is described as white and about 5ft to 5ft 2in tall. She has brown eyes and dark hair, which had long black curly extensions in it.
When last seen, she was wearing a black jumpsuit with red high-heeled shoes and was carrying a black handbag.
"Anyone with any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, should contact 101 or anonymously on Crimestoppers," added Superintendent Kerr.
