A 21-year-old man is due to appear in court in Glasgow on Friday morning in connection with the death of Irish student Karen Buckley as police confirmed a body found on a farm outside the city was that of the missing nurse.

Police confirmed the worst fears of Ms Buckley’s family as her father, John, told of the family’s devastation at the loss of their only daughter.

Ms Buckley had moved to Glasgow in January to study occupational therapy.

Ms Buckley’s parents have said they are “absolutely heartbroken”.

“Unfortunately, we can now confirm that the body discovered by police at the farm in north Glasgow last night is that of Karen Buckley,” Det Supt Jim Kerr told a press conference in Glasgow on Thursday.

The 24-year-old, a nurse from Mourneabbey near Mallow in North Cork, went missing after leaving Glasgow’s Sanctuary nightclub on Sunday morning.

Her remains were found on the outskirts of Milngavie about 14km northwest of the city. A postmortem was carried out tonight.

She went missing after she left her friends to go to the bathroom of the nightclub at about 1am last Sunday.

Police later identified her on CCTV footage talking to a man outside the nightclub and then walking with the man along Dumbarton Road away from the city centre and her flat.

Police believe she travelled in a car to the man’s flat on Dorchester Avenue, near Dawsholm Park, and left it at about 4am. Ms Buckley was last seen when she left the flat and was planning to walk home to her flat in Hill Street.

The discovery of the body was made after officers cordoned off land near High Craigton farm and Windyhills Golf Club on a country road between Glasgow and Drymen on Wednesday.

Relatives of Ms Buckley issued a statement after confirmation of the identity of the remains.

Det Insp Kerr read a statement from Ms Buckley’s father John on behalf of the family: “Marian and I together with our sons Brendan, Kieran and Damian, are absolutely heartbroken. Karen was our only daughter, cherished by our family and loved by her friends. She was an outgoing girl who had travelled the world where she met lots of people and thoroughly enjoyed her life.

“We will miss her terribly. We would be very grateful if we could now be left alone to grieve with our family and friends.”

Det Supt Kerr thanked the public for their help in the investigation.

“We cannot imagine the pain and suffering of Karen’s family and friends and all our thoughts are with them at this very sad and distressing time.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thanks the public and the communities both here and in Ireland for their significant assistance during this investigation. It was very, very helpful. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the news media for their sustained effort and support throughout this inquiry.”

Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has issued a statement thanking Police Scotland and expressing his support for the Buckley family.

“I am greatly saddened by the news emerging that Scottish police believe that a body discovered near Glasgow may be that of Karen Buckley. All of our thoughts and prayers are with Karen’s parents.”

Consular assistance was offered to the family.

On Wednesday the focus of the search moved from Dawsholm Park in Glasgow - where Ms Buckley’s handbag was found on Tuesday - to High Craigton farm, to the north of the city.

Earlier on Wednesday, police searched the area surrounding the flat Ms Buckley visited on the night she disappeared as well as a nearby park in Glasgow.

Additional specialist police teams, including a helicopter with infra-red heat seeking equipment and sniffer dogs had been drafted in to search Dawsholm Park, which is a short distance from the flat on Dorchester Avenue.

A team of police divers also searched a section of the Forth and Clyde Canal near Dawlsholm Park, where Ms Buckley’s handbag was found on Tuesday, in the north west corner of Glasgow.

The spokesman stressed that it was usual to utilise all specialist units in a missing person search operation such as divers particularly in areas with canals and rivers.

A fundraising website set up by the friends of Karen Buckley has raised mor than €60,000 towards helping her family.

Organised by Ms Buckley’s friends and peers from the University of Limerick Nursing class, the page was set up “in the hope of raising funds to help Karen’s family in any way possible during this difficult time.”

Last night, several hundred people attended a special prayer service at the Church of Saint Michael The Archangel in Mourneabbey which was arranged to show support for the family.

The Catholic Bishop of Cloyne, Dr William Crean, led the prayers for Ms Buckley.

“On my own behalf and on behalf of the faithful of the Diocese of Cloyne, I wish to offer prayerful support to the family of Karen Buckley at this painful time as they await the safe return of Karen,” he said.

Additional reporting: PA