Dhe twelve-year-old girl from Freudenberg in Siegerland, North Rhine-Westphalia, who was found dead after a search operation in Rhineland-Palatinate, has been killed. The girl was “victim of a homicide”. However, there is no evidence of a sexual offense, the police in Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, said on Monday. No further information has been given about the circumstances at this time.
An autopsy was scheduled to take place on Monday to determine the cause of death. “The investigation is proceeding swiftly. We are in contact with the investigative authorities in Siegen,” said the spokesman.
The child’s body was found on Sunday afternoon near a former train station in Rhineland-Palatinate, right on the state border. The investigators initially gave no information on the cause of death, “for reasons of investigation tactics,” as it was said. The investigations are being conducted by the Koblenz Criminal Investigation Department.
The child was last seen on Saturday around 5:30 p.m. in Freudenberg, when it was walking home after visiting a friend. When it did not come home, the search began in the evening with a large contingent of police and fire brigade forces.
Police officers then discovered a female body on Sunday afternoon, according to the Siegen police, in a piece of forest above Freudenberg-Hohenhain, which belongs to the Siegen-Wittgenstein district. It later turned out that the site was located in Rhineland-Palatinate, which belongs to the district of Altenkirchen.
In Freudenberg, the flags were flown at half-mast on Monday. “We are deeply shaken in Freudenberg and our thoughts are with the relatives. I have ordered mourning flags for today,” said Mayor Nicole Reschke. The girl’s school is opening, and psychologists are offering talks to classmates, said the SPD politician. On Sunday evening there was a funeral service in the city.