Freudenberg: Missing 12-year-old was the victim of a crime – Panorama

The 12-year-old girl from Freudenberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, who was found dead near a cycle path in Rhineland-Palatinate on Sunday, has been the victim of a crime. This was announced by the Koblenz police on Monday.

“The investigations carried out so far confirm the suspicion that the girl was the victim of a homicide,” said a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office. There is currently no evidence of a sexual offense. An autopsy was scheduled to take place on Monday to determine the cause of death. The investigators did not provide any information – “for investigative tactical reasons,” as it was said.

The girl had been missing since Saturday night. It was last seen around 5:30 p.m. in Freudenberg, when it was walking home after visiting a friend. The shortest way between the girlfriend and the girl’s home – in the same city – is through a piece of forest.

The child’s body was then discovered on Sunday afternoon in a wooded area above Freudenberg-Hohenhain near a former train station after the police and fire department had been looking for the girl all night. Dogs and a helicopter with a thermal imaging camera were also involved in the search. The site is in Rhineland-Palatinate, which is why the Koblenz Criminal Investigation Department took over the investigation.

Freudenberg is on the state border and belongs to the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein. “We are deeply shaken in Freudenberg and our thoughts are with the relatives. I have ordered mourning flags to be displayed 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.

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