A special team of detectives has been assembled to investigate the murder of a three-year old girl, whose body was found in a forest on Thursday night, after being missing since Monday in Thailand’s northeastern province of Muk Dahan.
A massive search, involving about 500 police, troops, local officials and volunteers, was launched when the child, named Nong Chompoo, was reported missing in Tambon Koktoom of Muk Dahan province. The team focused its search within a five-kilometre radius of the victim’s home, an area which includes parts of the Phu Pha Chon national park.
The search got a break when 70-year old Mrs. Toon Prom-ngoi, a resident of Tao Ngoi district in Sakhon Nakhon province, reported that she had found a child’s green slipper, while she was gathering forest produce in the national park which, straddles the two provinces.
Mrs. Toon led the team to the spot where she saw the slipper. They subsequently discovered the little girl’s body and cloths nearby.
The forensic team said that the child may have been strangled, and had died about eight hours before her body was found, adding that more will be known after an autopsy.
Police suspect that the child was abducted from her home, when her 13-year old sister fell asleep.
