Police Scotland arrested a 35-year-old man after a nine-year-old girl was found with serious injuries at Elliot Industrial Estate in Arbroath during a camping trip. The girl, who was from West Yorkshire, was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee and later died there.
Officers were called to the estate shortly after midnight, after the family had been camping in the area. Police Scotland said the other members of the family were being supported by specialist officers.
Elliot Industrial Estate scene
A police forensics tent was erected at the scene and a cordon was put in place. Police Scotland said the man arrested was known to the child, and that the death is being treated as suspicious.
Police Scotland also said officers were not looking for anyone else in connection with her death. It is understood that no one else was injured.
Karen Youngson at the estate
Karen Youngson said she saw a small tent and two camping chairs on the estate at about 22:15 on Sunday. “When I first went up there, I was like my goodness why is there a tent there?” she said.
She added: “There were two camping chairs, that's all I saw, but it was the amount of rubbish, it was unbelievable.” On her return, she said: “It was dark, there was no noise coming from the place, it wasn't like there were lights or anyone sitting outside.”
Sunday evening at Elliot
A man who works on the industrial estate said he saw a small tent with a car parked beside it at about 18:15 on Sunday. He said he saw a man and woman and two children at the tent, and that they were still there about 30 minutes later.
He said: “I thought it was a pretty strange place to camp, especially given the beach at Elliot which is two minutes away and is obviously a bit more picturesque.” The timeline now runs from those sightings to the call shortly after midnight, then to the hospital, the death and the arrest.
