Karen Buckley: Police 'gravely concerned' for missing student's wellbeing as divers join the search

 
Search: officers comb the area in north-west Glasgow
Gareth Vipers16 April 2015
WEST END FINAL

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Police investigating the disappearance of a student who went missing after a night out three days ago say they are “gravely concerned” for wellbeing.

Detective Superintendent Jim Kerr said it was his “absolute priority” to find Karen Buckley, 24, who went missing in Glasgow three days ago.

A helicopter crew, search dogs and police divers are all now involved in the search for Miss Buckley in the north-west of the city around the park where her handbag was found.

Teams have been combing Dawsholm Park, which is bordered on one side by the River Kelvin, and a nearby flat in Dorchester Avenue where the student was reportedly last seen.

Two officers in forensic suits entered the flat and are searching an area to the rear which has been cordoned off. Members of the search team were pictured carrying spades.

Mr Kerr 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.

"Anyone with any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, should contact 101 or anonymously on Crimestoppers."

Forensics: officers were seen entering a flat and searching an area to the rear

Patrols have been stepped up in the west end, Kelvindale and Anniesland areas of the city following the student's disappearance.

Miss Buckley is said to have travelled to a flat in Dorchester Avenue with a man after leaving the Sanctuary nightclub in the city's Dumbarton Road in the early hours of Sunday.

She was seen on CCTV talking to the man, named in reports as Alexander Pacteau, 21, outside the nightclub before leaving in his company.

Mr Pacteau has been traced and police say he is not a suspect but is continuing to assist them with their inquiries.

Concerns: Mis Buckley hasn't been seen for three days

Miss Buckley is said to have left his flat at around 4am to make her way home to Hill Street in the Garnethill area.

His mother Noreen, 43, told the Daily Record newspaper: "As you can tell by the police reports, he is not a suspect.

"She left his property at four o'clock in the morning and she was seen by other witnesses, not Alexander. So he is not a suspect."

Scotland's First Minister said police are working around the clock to find the missing student.

Nicola Sturgeon told Sky News: "Our thoughts, our prayers, are with Karen Buckley and of course with her family."

'Desperate': Karen's parents Marian and John Buckley

The qualified nurse moved to Glasgow in February and is a first-year occupational therapy student at Glasgow Caledonian University.

Her family, from Cork in the Republic of Ireland, have flown to Scotland to help in the search.

Yesterday, her mother Marian Buckley, 61, said: "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."

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