The tragic news of the death of six-year-old Alesha MacPhail was recently reported. Alesha had been found just under three hours after she was reported missing from her grandmother’s house on the Isle of Bute in Scotland. Initially, police said the death was “unexplained,” but detailed investigations showed otherwise.

After further investigations, a teenager has been arrested relating to Alesha’s death and is set to appear in the Greenock Sheriff Court soon. Meanwhile, the town of Rothesay and the young girl’s family are in mourning over the tragic loss of the child.

Young girl goes missing on the Isle of Bute

It was at 6:25 AM on Monday that Alesha was first reported missing by her grandmother. At 9:00 AM, her body was found in a woodland area on the grounds of a closed hotel nearby.

Detective Superintendent Stuart Houston of Police Scotland lauded the young girl’s parents for their amazing bravery during what must be an “unimaginable ordeal” for them. Houston went on to say that officers from the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland have had a challenging and difficult investigation into Alesha’s death and that they have “worked tirelessly” to find the cause of her death and track down her possible killer.

The BBC quotes Houston as saying that incidents of this nature are rare.

He said he realized that the recent events had shocked communities right across Scotland, but especially on the Island of Bute and also in Airdrie. He said both areas have services available to help anyone affected by Alesha’s tragic murder. Houston also said parents, children or carers with concerns following the incident can contact ParentLine Scotland for counselling.

As reported by Sky News, local residents noted an additional police presence in Ardbeg Road, from where Alesha had gone missing. Officers had entered the grounds of a home in the road, searching the garden using long sticks.

They later recovered a black Dacia car from behind that home as well as a second vehicle. Door-to-door enquiries were also made by police in the area.

Alesha was on holiday with her grandmother

Alesha normally lived with her mother, Genie Lochrane, in North Lanarkshire during the school term. Lochrane is apparently separated from the child’s father, Robert MacPhail. She was enjoying the three-week school break with her paternal grandparents and her father when the tragic incident happened.
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