Nurse in boot for 'up to 10 days'

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Chief Inspector Tommy Tague reveals details of the suspect

A nurse who was found in the boot of her car suffering from hypothermia and dehydration could have been there for up to 10 days, police have said.

Magdeline Makola, 38, a nurse at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, was found in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, on Friday.

Lothian and Borders Police now want to speak to a black man, aged between 20 and 40, who knew the nurse.

Ms Makola, who went missing on 15 December, was found in her nightwear. She is recovering in hospital.

Ms Makola is said to have been left extremely traumatised by her ordeal, and police believe it may be several days before they are able to finish questioning her.

One of the road policing officers discovered the car and heard some noises Ch Insp Tommy Tague

During a news conference on Saturday afternoon, Ch Insp Tommy Tague, of Lothian and Borders Police, said: "Magdeline is a very committed nurse who has a close circle of friends.

"This would appear to be completely out of the blue."

He said Ms Makola, a South African-born British citizen who lives in Livingston, had known the man the police want to find.

Mr Tague said the unnamed man, described as stocky and with dreadlocks, had not been Ms Makola's boyfriend, but the pair had met five or six years ago in Scotland.

"There is nothing to suggest that this is a random attack," Mr Tague said.

Police confirmed that detectives had interviewed the victim at Monklands Hospital in Airdrie only briefly due to the trauma of her ordeal.

Magdeline Makola has been working as a nurse in Edinburgh

She was found just after midday on Friday by a police officer conducting a search of streets in Airdrie after Ms Makola's bank card was used in the Chapelhall area.

Mr Tague said: "One of the road policing officers discovered the car and heard some noises from within."

Ms Makola had been restrained, police said, but it has not been confirmed if she was threatened with a weapon or drugged.

Friends of the nurse, who works in heart medicine, first raised the alarm after she failed to turn up for work.

Fellow nurse and South African Babs Gqabu worked with Ms Makola at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

She said she had been worried when her friend went missing.

On hearing that Ms Makola had been found, Ms Gqabu said she was grateful to the police, media and hospital staff for their support.