Updated 6.19 pm

KAREN BUCKLEY’S PARENTS have made a heartfelt appeal for the safe return of their daughter.

Speaking at a press conference in Glasgow this afternoon, her mother, Marion Buckley, said, “We just want Karen home safely, we are desperate.

“She is our only daughter, we love her dearly.”

• The search so far: What police know about Karen’s disappearance

Her father, John Buckley, went on to add:

We love her to bits and we are devastated.

Speaking to TheJournal.ie earlier today, John Paul O’Shea, local councillor for the Mallow area near to where Karen is from in Cork, said there is “a growing concern in relation to her safety since she has been missing”.

On behalf of the community, our thoughts and prayers are with the family.

It was also revealed at the press conference earlier this afternoon that a handbag believed to have belonged to Karen has been found at a park in Glasgow.

Karen has now been missing for over 60 hours and is believed to have last been seen in the early hours of Sunday morning on Dorchester Avenue in the city.

Read: Handbag believed to be Karen Buckley’s found in park in Glasgow