A six-year-old girl was found dead in woodlands after vanishing from her grandparents' home on a tight-knit island community yesterday.

Alesha MacPhail disappeared shortly after 6am on Monday from the flat near Rothesay, on the Isle of Bute.

Fewer than three hours later, a member of the public discovered the schoolgirl's body just half a mile away in the grounds of a demolished hotel.

Police cordoned off a wooded area near the village of Ardbeg a short time later, while roads and part of the beach were sealed off by officers as forensic teams arrived.

The body is yet to be formally identified, but police later said they believed it to be Alesha.

An investigation has begun and detectives are treating the death as unexplained.

Alesha MacPhail from Rothesay, Isle of Bute, was reported missing and later found dead

The six-year-old's body was found about half a mile away from their home on the site of the former Kyles of Bute Hydropathic Hotel

The youngster was staying with her paternal grandparents, Angela King and Calum MacPhail, when she was reported missing from their top floor flat at 6.25am.

Miss King first raised the alarm after posting a public appeal for help on social media when she discovered Alesha had vanished from the house.

She posted a picture of her granddaughter along with the caption 'Alesha has gone missing from our house, please help look for her.'

The appeal prompted a deluge support as members of the close-knit island in the Firth of Forth joined the search for the girl.

Alesha's father, Robert MacPhail, was seen among the police during the morning search, asking if anybody had seen his daughter.

Her family asked locals on the island of Bute to look for her after she went missing this morning

Alesha's mother Georgina Lochrane (pictured) was not with her at the time she went missing

Neighbours said he was 'white as a sheet' and calling her name along the beachside road.

Alesha's mother, Georgina Lochrane, was not with her at the time she went missing.

The 23-year-old, who is based in Coatbridge, has since been escorted from her home to the island by police, the Daily Record reports.

It is believed that Alesha lives in Lanarkshire and was spending part of the summer holidays on the island.

At around 9am, a member of the public made the grim discovery of the child's body.

The area where her body found, in the grounds of the former Kyles of Bute Hydropathic Hotel, was still closed off to the public last night.

The hotel, demolished in the 1970s, is only around 20 minutes' walk from Miss King and Mr MacPhail's home.

Police Scotland forensics officers examine the woods where six-year-old Alesha MacPhail was found on the Isle of Bute

Police are treating the death as unexplained and have launched a major investigation

Meanwhile, the house where Alesha was staying has now been cordoned off and one police van was seen parked outside.

Officers were seen stood near the pink and red roses that lay next to the cordoned- off area.

Messages on the floral tributes laid outside the home on Ardbeg Road read 'sleep tight little angel' and 'forever in our thoughts'.

The tragedy has stunned the tiny community of around 7,500 people, who say the island suffers 'hardly any crime'.

Both local residents and holidaymakers have spoken of their shock.

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.

'We have not been told anything about how it happened,' she said.

'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.

She added: '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.'

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.'

June McKenzie, who lives nearby, said: 'We were woken up at 7am and we were told she was missing, could we look for her.

'I looked in the garage and workshop and we saw that the search and rescue helicopter was out.

'I can't believe it. Her poor parents and gran. It's just appalling - somebody that young.

'The island's just down and will be for some time. Everybody just sticks together.'

Police taped off a nearby home, understood to be the house from which she went missing

Floral tributes to Alesha were placed near a house on Ardbeg Road on the Isle of Bute

Police cordon outside a house on Ardbeg Road on the Isle of Bute in Scotland, after officers found the body of a young girl on the site of the former Cames Hydro Hotel

Neighbour Derek Anderson, 68, added: 'I'm in absolute shock. There's hardly any crime on Bute. I've never seen anything like it. I didn't hear a thing all morning until my neighbours told me what was happening.

'We all get on well around here. I can only hope we find out what happens soon.'

John Morrison, a local property developer, said the community would be deeply affected by what happened: 'We are going to know the family or someone connected with them.

'It brings it right home, it is such a shock. I feel so sorry for the family at this moment in time.'

Provost Len Scoullar, of Argyll and Bute Council, paid tribute, adding: 'My deepest sympathies go out to the little girl's family.'

Alesha MacPhail was reported missing by relatives in Rothesay on the Isle of Bute (pictured)

Alesha was reported missing at 6.25am and her body was found just hours later at about 9am

Friends of the Alesha's grandparents also posted poignant messages of support online.

Andrina Lewis, a friend of Miss King's, wrote: 'My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family Angie. Can't imagine the pain you are going through. Can't stop crying.'

Kora Nicholson added: 'Heart is absolutely breaking for you all. Can't even imagine what you are all going through. Please know that you have everyone thinking of you and sending love and support.'

Ferry passengers later reported being questioned as to why they had visited Bute as they returned to the mainland.

Police last night said additional officers had been deployed to the island and that specialist officers had been sent to provide support to Alesha's family.

They declined to discuss whether Alesha died in the woods or how long she had been in the woods when she was found.

The place where the girl's body was found was previously the site of the Kyles of Bute Hydropathic Hotel

Police at the scene this afternoon after the six-year-old's body was found on the island

The road was blocked off today as police investigated the little girl's death

Detective Superintendent Stuart Houston, of Police Scotland's Major Investigations Team, said: 'We were called to investigate a report of a missing child from Ardbeg Road in Rothesay at 6.25am this morning, sometime after that the body of a child was found nearby.

'This is an unexplained death. We are following a number of lines of inquiries and we are looking to establish a timeline of people who were in that area.

'There was a number of people alerted through social media to the search for this missing child and we are keen to speak to any of those people who have not yet spoken to police as they maybe sitting on crucial information that we need.

'The investigation is at a very early stage and the effort is focussed on woodland that used to form part of an old hotel.'

Islanders railed around the family on Facebook, sending their condolences to the girl's family

Flowers were left at the scene after it was cordoned off by police investigating

When asked if Alesha lived on the island or was visiting, he replied: 'She was visiting the island and we need to engage further with the family to establish the full circumstances of that.

'We have specialist trained officers that are engaging with the family to provide any support that we can.'

Area Commander, Superintendent Brian Gibson described Alesha's death as a 'tragedy', adding: 'I can reassure families on the island that we have additional officers out there, these are known as reassurance patrols, working in that specific location in the form of high visibility patrols.

'Every piece of information is relevant at this stage.'

Anyone with information is asked to call officers at the Major Investigations Teams via 101 quoting incident no 0695 of 2 July 2018