Man shoots himself dead in car after abducting girl of 11 from her home

The girl was left "traumatised" after she was taken from her mother's home in the Highlands late at night and driven about ten miles away, where she was held in a car.

Her mother alerted police and a patrol later found the silver Audi with the man and child inside, on Ferry Road in Dingwall. Armed Police and specialist negotiators were called to the scene.

The girl was allowed to leave the car about 1am yesterday, unharmed but traumatised by the ordeal.

The man, named locally as Michael Buchanan, 50, was not related to the girl but is believed to have been in a relationship with her mother.

Despite further lengthy negotiations Buchanan turned the gun on himself at 4:20am.

The incident happened just a few hundred yards from Victoria Park, where thousands of football fans had earlier watched Ross County beat Hibernian in a Scottish Cup quarter final.

It shocked the residents of a cluster of seven houses on Ferry Road, where the tragedy unfolded just yards from their homes.

Marilyn Ross, who lives nearby, said she heard a commotion about 1am and initially thought it was football supporters in the aftermath of the game.

Ms Ross said she then saw four police cars and the silver Audi and heard someone shout "back off" and "stay away". She said: "I heard someone mention a gun and could see a man in the car and the light of his mobile phone and a lit cigarette."

She went to bed, and when she looked out at 6:30am police had erected screens around the car.

"I knew then that something terrible had happened, that he had shot himself," she said. "It's such a tragedy, just awful. The child must have been terrified. You don't expect such a terrible thing to happen right outside your door."

No-one at the girl's mother's house in Beauly, west of Inverness, would comment yesterday.

Northern Constabulary said it is continuing inquiries into the circumstances of the incident and will send a report to the procurator fiscal at the end of its investigation.

The force has appointed family liaison officers to help the young girl and her family as well as Mr Buchanan's family.

Officers at the scene will also be given help and counselling.

Chief Inspector Mike Coats, the force's area commander for Ross and Cromarty, said: "We are continuing inquiries into the circumstances in both the Beauly and Dingwall areas today to establish the full facts.

"Both families have been through an extremely traumatic ordeal.

"This has also been a traumatic time for the police personnel involved in the incident and we will provide the necessary support to help them deal with this."

He said it was too early to speculate on what happened in the lead-up to the abduction, adding: "We don't know what happened and it's something we are trying to piece together."

The car was traced by officers on patrol in Dingwall who were joined shortly after by armed colleagues and four negotiators.

DI Coats said the girl was released unharmed after about an hour of specialist negotiations.

He added: "She was fine but extremely upset. He stayed in the car. We never managed to get him out."

It is believed Buchanan, who had an address in Inverness, used a shotgun to kill himself.

Police sources said he did not hold the weapon to the girl while he kept her in the car, but turned it on himself after she was set free.

Yesterday neighbours said he and the girl's mother had a "stormy, on-off" relationship for a number of years.

One said: "They have had their rows, which is the reason they break up.

"I don't know what stage the relationship was at now, but it seems likely a domestic row is at the centre of this."

A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.