Teenage suspect arrested in death of 6-year-old Alesha MacPhail
A teenager has been tracked down and arrested by Police Scotland on suspicion of the murder of Alesha MacPhail, the 6-year-old girl who was recently found dead on the Isle of Bute.
Initially, Alesha was reported missing by her grandparents, 49-year-old Calum MacPhail and 46-year-old Angela MacPhail, on Monday, July 2, 2018, but her body was found in woodland three hours later.
According to The Guardian, the identity of the teenager is yet to be revealed as the police wish to conduct the investigation with as much control over the available information as possible.
Detective Superintendent Stuart Houston appealed to everyone with any information regarding the case to please step forward and share it with the proper authorities.
A teenage boy's been arrested on suspicion of murder after the body of 6 y/o #AleshaMacPhail
— Capital London News (@CapitalLONnews) July 5, 2018
was found on the Isle of Bute #CapitalReports pic.twitter.com/ctc0PLDsmp
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🎥 Police are still searching the house in #Rothesay where six year-old #AleshaMacPhail was staying before she was found dead. Our reporter @NatashaReid159 is there: pic.twitter.com/Bm6yMQOUy2
— WestSoundNews (@WestSoundNews) July 4, 2018
The request had been previously made following the discovery of Alesha's body, but now Houston is looking forward to being presented with some visual evidence from people with CCTV installed at their home or business.
At the time of her disappearance, Aesha was on holiday with her father, 25-year-old Robert MacPhail, and his parents, who were devastated to learn that their little girl had been murdered.
🎥WATCH: Police confirm they’re treating the death of a young girl on the Isle of Bute - believed to be six-year-old Alesha MacPhail - as unexplained. A body was found in woodland in Rothesay this morning. pic.twitter.com/0wwiPCkA5x
— Radio Clyde News (@RadioClydeNews) July 2, 2018
Upon learning that the 6-year-old was missing, several Rothesay residents joined the police in the search. Although their help was welcomed, Houston believed that the suspect might have been among the people looking for Alesha that day.
🎥 Rev Owain Jones says there are ‘no words’ to express how locals on the Isle of Bute feel after 6 year old Alesha MacPhail was murdered #CapitalReports pic.twitter.com/zHdQVNsz18
— CapitalScotland News (@CapitalScotNews) July 4, 2018
The Detective Superintendent claimed that he wanted to talk every single person that was in the vicinity of Ardbeg, where the body was found, in order to find out if they had seen someone acting particularly suspicious.
The investigation will now continue as more and more people pass by the grieving family's home to leave small tribute's to little Alesha, such as stuffed animals, balloons, toys, sweet notes, drawings and flowers.