Bush's niece 'found with cocaine'

Noelle Bush was once jailed for a drug-related offence

Police in the US state of Florida say Noelle Bush - niece of the president - has been found with cocaine at her drug rehabilitation centre.

Ms Bush - the daughter of George W Bush's brother Jeb who is also the governor of Florida - has a history of alcohol and drug problems.

Bush bother

President Bush was a heavy drinker until his 40th birthday

The president has refused to rule out ever abusing drugs

His twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, have both been arrested for underage drinking

His niece Noelle was arrested in January for trying to obtain drugs fraudulently

Noelle was jailed in July for breaking the terms of court-ordered rehabilitation

Police in the city of Orlando were called to the rehabilitation centre where the 25-year-old was being treated after staff said she had been found with cocaine in her possession.

But a police spokesman, Sergeant Orlando Rolon, said police had not charged Ms Bush with any offence nor had they interviewed her immediately.

Sergeant Rolon said Ms Bush was not arrested at the time because officers could not get a sworn statement that she was in possession of cocaine.

He said the investigation would continue.

'Road to recovery'

Governor Jeb Bush said he would not discuss his daughter's situation.

Noelle Bush was not immediately questioned or arrested by police

"This is a private issue as it relates to my daughter and myself and my wife," he said.

"The road to recovery is a rocky one for a lot of people that have this kind of problem. I don't have any details about what happened. I just found out."

In July, a judge ruled that Ms Bush broke the terms of a court-ordered drug treatment programme after a worker found her with some pills - and she was jailed for 72 hours.

She had been arrested in January after fraudulently trying to obtain a prescription drug to treat anxiety.

Jeb Bush faces a re-election campaign for governor this autumn.