Police on Monday began an autopsy on a body found on the mountain Gangjinsan in Ganjin, South Jeolla Province, to determine if it is the 16-year-old girl who had gone missing the week before.

According to Gangjin Police, the body found Sunday was heavily decomposed, with the family unable to identify the girl.

Police believe the state of the remains is in line with the timing in which the school girl disappeared. An investigation is underway to reveal the cause of death.

 

The missing girl’s fingerprints had not been registered with any government agency. The body found on Gangjinsan had the clothes pulled off. There was no particularly distinctive feature on the teeth. Barely any hair was left on the head. Police will seek to determine if the lack of hair is part of the natural process of decomposition or if it was intentionally cut.

The National Forensic Service is currently running a DNA test. Further DNA samples will be supplied to NFS through autopsy.

On June 16, it was reported that a girl went missing in Gangjin, South Jeolla Province, after she had left an online message to a friend saying she was about to meet her father’s close friend for a “part-time job.” The girl had asked the friend to keep the job offer secret.

After the girl disappeared, her mother visited the family friend’s house to ask after her daughter’s whereabouts. The 51-year-old man, surnamed Kim, had been a close family friend and is now the prime suspect of the missing girl’s case. He reportedly fled the house through the back door and was found dead the next day in an apparent suicide.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)