Body found in Clydebank confirmed as Paige Doherty

Teenager Paige Doherty. Picture: Hemedia

Schoolgirl Paige Doherty vanished in Clydebank, near Glasgow, on her way to her part-time hairdressing job on Saturday morning.

A major search was launched after her mother reported her missing that evening.

A body was found dumped in a wooded area behind a path in Clydebank on Monday and yesterday police confirmed it was the schoolgirl’s.

Posting on Facebook yesterday, the teenager’s mother, Pamela Munro, 32, wrote: “We are absolutely devastated, as will many people who know her will be xxx.”

Speaking from the area where the schoolgirl’s body was found, Detective Superintendent Duncan Sloan said: “Paige was a young, friendly girl with plenty of friends and for her life to be taken away so brutally at such a young age is unfathomable to everyone.

“My priority is to find out what happened to Paige and to find who is responsible.”

Mr Sloan, of Police Scotland’s major investigations unit, did not detail the teenager’s injuries but said a post mortem examination took place yesterday afternoon. The detective said he is “open to all motives” for the assault.

Police have found a body off Great Western Road in Clydebank. Picture: PA

Forensic officers were yesterday working at the area where Paige was found and CCTV footage being gathered.

Mr Sloan said: “I am appealing to members of the public – we need to piece together the movements of Paige from 8:20am on Saturday when she went missing until we find the body at around 1pm on Monday. Anybody who knows Paige, please come forward with any information around her lifestyle or any reason why you think somebody would have attacked Paige.”

The teenager was last seen buying breakfast at a Clydebank delicatessen and heading to a bus stop to travel to Street Image Hairdressing where she worked in Kirkintilloch, which is around 12 miles away.

Missing posters had been put up around the Clydebank, where she lived, and a dedicated Facebook page set up to help find her.

In a plea for help, Mrs Munro had posted: “‘I am totally sick with worry and just want my little girl home.

“She’s not in trouble, she’s just got to get home where she’s safe and loved. Please keep sharing x.”

Mrs Munro, who has three other children, and her husband Andrew, 33, live in Clydebank’s Whitecrook area.

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