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Glasgow

Man detained in search for missing Karen Buckley

The Irish student has not been seen since the early hours of Sunday morning.

Karen Buckley missing A police forensic officer searches the rear gardens of a block of flats in Dorchester Avenue in Glasgow. PA Wire / Press Association Images PA Wire / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

Updated at 17.30

POLICE IN SCOTLAND have detained a 21-year-old man in connection with the disappearance of Cork woman Karen Buckley.

Police in Glasgow say they are “following a definite line of enquiry” and the man can be arrested after 12 hours.

The 24-year-old nurse has not been seen since the early hours of Sunday morning after she left a local nightclub.

Police have also sealed off an area north of the city at Windyhill Golf Club and concentrating their search on a farm in the High Craiton area of Glasgow.

Friends have established a fund to help Karen’s family with their expenses while in Glasgow, which has raised over £2,600 in two hours.

Afternoon

In an update this afternoon, Detective Superintendent Jim Kerr said helicopters, sniffer dogs and the police underwater unit had all been deployed.

The police search initially focused on Dawsholm park in the city – where Karen’s handbag was found yesterday. They continued working overnight as part of the detailed search.

The search was expanded today include a nearby industrial park, while forensic teams have moved into the area around a flat on Dorchester Avenue.

Forensic officers entered the back garden of the flat complex – and have bagged a number of items.

A back lane and woods next to a canal at Dorchester Avenue have also been sealed off after a search of a number of sheds, according to local reporter Connor Gillies.

cork Karen Buckley

“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,” Kerr said again today.

Detectives believe the young woman was last seen on Dorchester Avenue at 4am on the Sunday morning on the way to her own accommodation.

She had spent some time in a man’s home after leaving the Sanctuary nightclub. Police have spoken with that man.

The park that has been searched is located about half a mile from that man’s home.

Buckley’s parents - who were present at a press conference yesterday and appealed for their daughter’s safe return – had told officers that their daughter avoided taxis as she did not feel they were safe and had most likely set off home on foot.

Police have also appealed for information about a grey car seen acting suspiciously in the outskirts of the city.

Karen Buckley missing Police search garages and the surrounding areas near a block of flats in Dorchester Avenue. PA Wire / Press Association Images PA Wire / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

Karen Buckley missing Police search garages near the block of flats. PA Wire / Press Association Images PA Wire / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

Emotional plea

Karen Buckley, originally from the parish of Mourneabbey in Cork, moved to the city three months ago to study occupational therapy at Glasgow Caledonian University.

The youngest in her family, she has three older brothers.

Locals in Mourneabbey, including her former Ladies Football team, have posted pleas online for her safe return.

A prayer service is also being held this evening.

More: Handbag believed to be Karen Buckley’s found in park in Glasgow

Read: “We love her to bits and we are devastated”

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