Karen Buckley: Parents 'desperate' for safe return of missing Glasgow student

Marian and John Buckley speak to the media in Glasgow on Tuesday (PA)

The parents of a student who vanished after leaving a Glasgow nightclub at the weekend have said they are “desperate” for her safe return.

Karen Buckley, 24, was last seen on CCTV footage in the early hours of Sunday morning. Police said they are “gravely concerned” for her safety and are treating her disappearance as a high-risk missing person inquiry. A handbag thought to have belonged to Glasgow Caledonian student was found in Dawsholm Park in the north west of the city on Tuesday.

The family of Miss Buckley, who is from Cork in Ireland, have flown to Glasgow to help with the search.

Karen Buckley has not been seen since leaving a nightclub on Sunday morning (PA)

“We just want Karen home safely, we are desperate,” her mother Marian said yesterday. “She is our only daughter, we love her dearly. If anybody has any information please come forward, we would dearly appreciate it.”

Her father John said: “If anybody is holding Karen, if anybody knows anything of her, please return her. Please let’s have her back. We love her to bits. We love her to bits.”

He added: “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.”

Ms Buckley arrived at the Sanctuary nightclub in Dumbarton Road, Glasgow, with friends at about 11.45pm on Saturday. Friends who were with her say that at around 1am she told them she was going to the toilet. She did not return and left her jacket.

She was later seen outside on CCTV talking to a man and then walking west along Dumbarton Road towards Church Street. Officers stressed yesterday that the man was helping with inquiries and “not a suspect”.

A police officer searches the undergrowth in Dawsholm Park in Glasgow (PA)

In a press conference yesterday police said she later emerged alone from a house at around 4 am on Sunday and was planning to walk home.

Ms Buckley, who is studying occupational therapy, has not been active on any social media sites since her disappearance and her mobile phone is believed to be out of battery.

Detective Superintendent Jim Kerr, from Police Scotland’s major investigations teams, said: “We are gravely concerned that Karen has come to some harm, whether that is down to foul play, criminality or she has taken unwell or had an accident is obviously still to be established.”

Ms Buckley is described as white and about 5ft to 5ft 2in. She has brown eyes and dark hair which, on the day of her disappearance, had long black curly extensions in it. When last seen she was wearing a black jumpsuit with red high heels. News of her disappearance has generated responses from Scotland and Ireland.

The Sinn Fein deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Martin McGuinness wrote on Tuesday: “My thoughts are with the parents of Cork student Karen Buckley who is missing in Glasgow. I feel for them & praying for Karen’s safe return.”