The body of a young girl, suspected to be that of a 13-year-old reported missing in Merweville, was found on Friday, Western Cape police said — the same day that a newly born baby was found dead in a dustbin in Mamelodi East, Pretoria.
Spokesperson Ntobeko Mangqwengqwe said police found the girl’s decomposed body in a water tank at Weltevrede, a farm outside Leeu-Gamka. DNA testing will be conducted on the body to determine the identity.
The girl was reported missing on April 14. Her father, a farmworker from Leeu-Gamka, asked his employer to drop the girl off in Merweville where she lived with her mother.
The farmer and his wife said they dropped off the girl as requested, but she failed to arrive at home. Despite a vigorous search, police could not find her, Mangqwengqwe said.
They then brought in the farmer and his wife, aged 36 and 39, for questioning.
On July 12, the couple was arrested for child abandonment. The 36-year-old man may face an additional charge of murder, Mangqwengqwe added.
The baby in Mamelodi East was found by a passer-by near a Shell garage in Tsamaya Road at about 5pm on Friday, police Inspector Paul Ramoloko said.
Members of the public alerted police about the discovery. It was not immediately known whether it was a girl or boy.
Ramoloko appealed to anyone with information that might help police in their investigation to contact their nearest police station. — Sapa