Police searching for a student who failed to return home from a night out at the weekend have been scouring a park where her handbag was found.
Concerns were raised by friends of Karen Buckley, 24, who last saw her at The Sanctuary in Dumbarton Road, Glasgow, in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Officers have said they are “gravely concerned” for her wellbeing.
The 24-year-old was seen on CCTV talking to a man outside the nightclub and police said he is now “helping them with inquiries”.
The pair left the club in the man’s car and travelled to his flat in Dorchester Avenue. It is said that she left the flat at around 4am and was planning to walk home to her flat in Hill Street.
Detective Superintendent Jim Kerr, from Police Scotland’s major investigations teams, stressed at a press conference yesterday that the man was “not a suspect”.
A handbag which officers believe belongs to Miss Buckley was found in Dawsholm Park, near Dorchester Avenue, yesterday afternoon.
The entrance to the park was later cordoned off and dozens of officers and a police helicopter began searching the area.
The family of Miss Buckley, who is from Cork in the Republic of Ireland, have flown to Scotland.
Her mother Marian said: “We just want Karen home safely, we are desperate. She is our only daughter, we love her dearly.
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“If anybody has any information please come forward, we would dearly appreciate it.”
Miss Buckley moved to Glasgow in February and is a first year occupational therapy student at Glasgow Caledonian University.
She arrived at The Sanctuary with friends at around 11.45pm on Saturday and at around 1am she told them she was going to the toilet. She failed to return and did not take her jacket.
Mr Kerr said: “We’ve traced the man she was with in Dorchester Avenue. He believes he was intimate with her at his flat consensually in the early hours of Sunday.”
The police officer added: “From what we can see, she does not appear to be under duress, there’s no signs of a struggle or reluctance on her part to leave the club.
“However, that does not mean that something untoward has happened to her at a later stage.”
Miss Buckley is described as white and around 5ft to 5ft 2in. She has brown eyes and dark hair which had long black curly extensions in it.
When last seen, she was wearing a black jumpsuit with red high-heeled shoes and was carrying a black handbag.
Police are also keen to find out more about a grey car that was seen on the roads between Milngavie and Drymen north of Glasgow between 11am and 3pm on Monday.
Mr Kerr said: “The activity of this grey car on the Monday is something that we’re a wee bit concerned about. This car has been seen at various locations on these roads and I want to know why.”
He added: “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.”
Her father John Buckley, 62, said the disappearance was “so out of character”.
He said: “We are extremely concerned for her. We are desperate to get her back and safe with her family – she is our only daughter, we love her dearly and just want her to come home safe and sound.”