LOCALS have reacted with shock to the news of the death of six-year-old Alesha MacPhail.

The little girl's body was found in woodland on the Isle of Bute less than three hours after she was reported missing.

Her gran, Angela King, had raised the alarm on Facebook on Monday morning with the words: "Alesha has gone missing from our house. "Please help look for her." 

The house that overlooks the coast where Alesha was staying was been cordoned off and one police van seen parked outside.

Officers stood near the pink and red roses that lay next to the cordoned off area next to police accident signs.

Tributes poured in online for the schoolgirl, with friends and family expressing sadness and sympathy for Mrs King.

One woman, who is originally from Fife, was there with her two children on holiday at Prospect House, which is close to the family home.

She says she was 'shocked'.

The woman said: "We have not been told anything about how it happened.

"We just heard that a wee girl had initially gone missing and then found dead.

"It’s awful.

"We were having lunch at a local café when I heard that the little girl was dead.

"We just arrived yesterday and it’s our first time here.

"It’s frightening as I have two little girls too.

"I just didn’t think things like that happened here."

Around 6.25am, police received a report that a child was missing and a large scale search was undertaken to locate her.

At 9am, the body of a young female child was found in woodland on Ardberg Road, Rothesay, by a member of the public.

Formal identification is still to take place, however, police said it is believed to be Alesha MacPhail.

A local resident, who knows Alesha’s grandmother and arrived with her family to lay flowers at the scene, added: "The whole of the Island of Bute is in complete shock.

"Alesha’s father Robert is just a brilliant guy and worshipped the ground she walked on.

"They were happy together. This doesn’t happen here.

"We are a close-knit community and it takes five minutes for news to spread here.

"The whole community will stand together I know that. That is what the island is like."

Detectives ask anyone who helped search for Alesha to come forward as they warn locals not to be alarmed.

Detective Superintendent Stuart Houston from Police Scotland's Major Investigation Teams said: "This death of a six-year-old child has shocked the tight knit community of Rothesay and it is imperative that we find out what has happened.

"This investigation is at its very early stages however I am appealing for information in order to piece together Alesha's last known movements.

"We know that once the alarm was raised about her being missing, there were a number of local people who assisted with the search.

"I would like to speak to anyone who was involved in that search who have not yet been spoken to by the police.

"This is to ensure that everyone that was in the vicinity of Ardbeg Road at the time is traced as they may have critical information which could assist with the investigation.

"I must reiterate that this death is still being treated as unexplained at this time, however I would like to reassure the public that this type of incident is rare."