Convicted murderer missing from open prison traced

Police said Raymond McCourt, 59, was found in Edinburgh and will now be returned to prison.

Raymond McCourt was reported missing earlier in the week (Police Scotland/PA)

A convicted murderer who went missing from an open prison has been traced.

Raymond McCourt, 59, was reported missing at 5.30pm on Tuesday after he failed to return to HMP Castle Huntly near Dundee.

Police said officers located him in London Road, Edinburgh, on Friday morning.

He was detained and will be returned to prison.

Police had warned people not to approach McCourt if they saw him.

McCourt was jailed for life in 1993 for the murder of shopkeeper Khalid Mahmood in Cambuslang and for shooting a woman and a police officer, and was ordered to serve a minimum of 18 years behind bars.

He was released in 2015 but returned to prison after being convicted of theft.

Castle Huntly is Scotland’s only open prison.