Hope Gordon, 6, was found dead in a house along with her father Mark, 36, and they were both discovered by police in West Calder, West Lothian, on Monday afternoon
A devastated headteacher has paid a heartfelt tribute to tragic six-year-old pupil Hope Gordon, who was found dead in a house alongside her dad Mark, 36, on Monday.
Fiona Linfoot described Hope as a “bright, bubbly” girl who “brought joy to everyone she met” in a statement issued on behalf of the school.
Hope and her father’s deaths are being treated as unexplained, with police stating that they have found no evidence to suggest anyone else was involved. Post-mortem examinations are set to take place this week.
Ms Linfoot, of Toronto Primary School in West Lothian, said: “Hope was a much-loved member of the Toronto Primary family, and will be hugely missed by all her friends and school staff. She was a bright, bubbly and affectionate girl who brought joy to everyone she met. We will really miss her infectious smile and kind heart.
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“We would ask everyone to respect the privacy of her family and the school community at this difficult time. Help and support is available to any of our pupils, or staff, affected by this tragic news.”
Chief Superintendent Gregg Banks stated that concerns were raised when Hope failed to attend school on Monday, prompting a police response to a “concern for” call. He added: “That call related to concern from a family member around their child failing to attend school. This led our officers to conduct inquiries to identify the child’s whereabouts, and ultimately resulted in them attending at the property at Harburn Drive in West Calder.
“When they were unable to gain entry to the property, assistance was provided from colleagues at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to force entry, and tragically the bodies of an adult male aged 36, and a young female six years of age, were discovered in the property.”
Mr Banks said there had been an “element of shared custody” over the child between her mother and father, and that she had been staying with her father for a “period of time” when their bodies were found.
Detective Chief Inspector Bob Williamson, of the major investigation team, said: “Our thoughts remain with the man and girl’s relatives at this extremely difficult time and they continue to be supported by specialist officers. They are understandably devastated and it is vital we get answers for them. At this time we have no information to suggest anyone else is involved and our inquiries are continuing.”
Mr Banks added the investigation is still at a “relatively early stage”, and he called on people to avoid “speculation” about what happened at the property. He said: “The post-mortems have not been conducted yet. I genuinely hope folk won’t throw wild speculation out there. That really does not support the family who are devastated at this time. Let’s work on the facts and we will know the post-mortem facts very quickly.”
Mr Banks then requested that the grieving family’s need for privacy be respected, saying, “As you can probably imagine, anyone losing a family member in such circumstances is a really tragic and difficult thing to deal with, particularly losing a child,” he continued. “The death of a six year old child is particularly tragic, so the family are being supported. But clearly my appeal has been for privacy at this time.”
He also expressed gratitude towards the local community for their assistance during the troubling period. Seeking to offer reassurance, he added that the incident seems to have occurred solely within that property, highlighting there is no threat to the wider public.
Chief Inspector Elaine McArthur-Kerr, the local area commander, affirmed the sentiment by saying: “We understand the significant impact this will have on the local community and I would like to thank everyone for their help so far. This incident is very upsetting and worrying for the people living in this community and we would ask anyone with any concerns to speak to us. A police presence will remain in the area while we carry out investigations and anyone with any concerns, or information, can approach these officers.”
The police have requested that anyone with details regarding the incident should get in touch.