Police find naked body of kidnapped young girl

A 12-year-old girl, kidnapped from her home two weeks ago, was found dead yesterday in her own neighborhood, Daegu Police said yesterday.

Police officials found the body of Hur Eun-jeong at around 5 p.m. yesterday in a valley about two kilometers from her home, the Dalseong Police Precinct of Daegu said. The body was naked and severely decomposed.

The last in a series of searches for the kidnapped girl began yesterday morning in a five-kilometer radius of her home, as 440 police troops, a helicopter and six search dogs joined the operation.

The kidnapping took place on May 30, when two men broke into the house and started beating the girl’s grandfather. The victim tried to stop them and was carried off.

Investigators have presumed that the suspects have a grudge against the grandfather because they made no ransom demands and did not steal anything from the house. Inconsistent statements from the injured grandfather were cited as slowing down the investigation.

By Ser Myo-ja Staff Reporter [myoja@joongang.co.kr]