A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Alesha MacPhail, the six-year-old who went missing on the Isle of Bute on Monday, police said.

The body of the child was found in woodland little more than two hours after she was reported missing at about 6.30am.

On Wednesday, Police Scotland renewed their appeal for witnesses as they announced news of the arrest.

“The response to our earlier public appeals has been significant,” said Det Supt Stuart Houston. “However, despite this evening’s major development I am still appealing for anyone who was in the Ardbeg Road area of Bute on Sunday night or in the early hours of Monday, and who may have information about Alesha’s death to contact us.”

He added: “Anyone who has CCTV at their home or business, or indeed any motorists with dashcam footage which might help with our investigation are also urged to get in touch.”

The arrested teenager has not been named.

Earlier on Wednesday, residents and visitors to the islands expressed their horror that a child may have been killed.

The house where Alesha disappeared and the nearby grounds of a disused hotel, where her body was discovered, were the focus of intense police activity throughout Wednesday. Local officers are being assisted in their investigations by personnel drafted in from across Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire divisions, as well as by forensic specialists.

Alesha was described as a “happy, smiley” girl by Wendy Davie, her head teacher at Chapelside primary school, Airdrie, which she had attended since August 2016. In a statement on Tuesday, Davie said: “She loved being at school and enjoyed all aspects of literacy, in particular writing. She was such a perfectionist in her handwriting and was very proud of her work.” Relatives shared on social media that the little girl had also loved reading.

Police confirmed on Tuesday that they were treating the incident as murder after a postmortem examination.

Speaking at a press conference late on Tuesday evening Houston said: “Alesha’s family is utterly devastated by what has happened and the news that we have had to give them this evening. Alesha was a six-year-old girl who had started her summer holidays and came here to spend her holiday with her relatives.”