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Family heartbreak as body of missing Karen Buckley is found

Karen Buckley had initially sparked a missing persons search when she failed to return from a night out over the weekend. The 24-year old, originally from Cork, Ireland, had been out with friends at the Sanctuary nightclub in Glasgow. They’d arrived at 11:45 p.m. and at 1 a.m. Karen told her friends she was going to use the toilet. She never returned to them and had left her jacket behind but had taken her bag.

Karen was seen on CCTV talking to a man outside of the nightclub whom she eventually left with. He was later traced and told Police Scotland that he had been with Karen but she had left his Kelvindale house at around 4 a.m. on Sunday April 12, apparently deciding to walk home to her nearby flat.

However, Karen never made it back to her flat by Sunday morning and concerned friends alerted the police as this was out of character for her. Her friends said that though Karen had been drinking she wasn’t drunk.

At the beginning of the week Karen’s parents flew in from Ireland to help police in their efforts to find their missing daughter.

The search for Karen continued, with police insisting that the man with whom Karen had left the nightclub was assisting them with their enquiries but was not a suspect. Police also asked members of the public if they could help them look for a grey car that had been spotted in several locations throughout Monday, April 13 and was of concern to them.

At a press conference Karen’s mother, Marian, appealed to the public to come forward with any information that they may have about her daughters whereabouts, she added:  “We just want Karen home safely – we are desperate. She is our only daughter. We love her dearly. We are extremely concerned for her. We are desperate to get her back and safe with her family.”

Police, friends and family were concerned as Karen had not used any of her social media sites and had not been replying to texts and phone calls. Her father, John said: “She always keeps in contact with her family and friends to let them know where she is and what she is up to. To not return to her flat or be in contact with her pals, not responding to texts and calls to her mobile, is very, very worrying as it is so out of character.”

The investigation into Karen’s whereabouts changed tack on Tuesday April 14 when her handbag was found in Dawsholm Park, close to the Dorchester Avenue flat that Karen apparently left at 4 a.m. Sunday.

On Wednesday police detained a 21-year old man in connection to Karen’s disappearance and it was widely believed that this is the same man Karen left the nightclub with in the early hours of Sunday morning. Police said they were following a definite line of inquiry.

Police search dogs and helicopter crews were involved in a search for Karen, which then centred on and around the area of High Craigton Farm, a short distance from the Dorchester Avenue flat. Divers were also brought in as the search for Karen continued.

Police revealed early on Thursday that they could confirm they had found human remains in the area that they were searching and Karen’s parents had been informed of the discovery. No formal ID had taken place at that time.

However, later on Thursday Police Scotland confirmed that the body found on Wednesday was that of Karen Buckley. The officer leading the investigation, Detective Superintendent Jim Kerr said: “We cannot begin to imagine the pain and suffering of Karen’s family and friends and all our thoughts are with them at this very sad time.

“We would like publicly to thank everyone for their support to the investigation. This case has attracted a significant amount of public interest here in Scotland and in Ireland, and the response and support from the community in Glasgow and beyond has been very, very helpful. 

“We are extremely grateful to everyone including the news media, for their immense support throughout.”

Karen’s family have also released a statement which read: “Marian and I, together with our sons Brendan, Kieran and Damian, are absolutely heartbroken. Karen was our only daughter, cherished by our family and loved by her friends. 
“She was an outgoing girl, who travelled the world where she met lots of people and thoroughly enjoyed her life. We will miss her terribly.

“We would be very grateful if we could be left alone now to grieve with our family and friends.”

Karen, a trained nurse, had moved to Glasgow in February of this year to study Occupational Therapy at Glasgow Caledonian University.

The 21-year old arrested in connection to her death is expected to appear in court on Friday.

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