INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
LUCENA CITY — A missing 7-year-old girl was found dead Sunday and buried inside a cave in Lucban, Quezon province, authorities said.
Police said “Ali,” a Grade 2 pupil, who lived in Barangay Palola, was declared missing after she failed to return home on Saturday night, Jan. 13.
Early the next day, a certain “Jose,” an uncle of the victim, and other searchers spotted a villager identified as “Noel,” 33, come out of a cave in a forested area in the barangay, while carrying a digging tool, the report said.
After Noel left without being accosted by the group, Jose went inside the cave and found a newly dug spot covered with rocks and the slippers of the victim beside it.
READ: Missing girl found dead in Quezon
When Jose unearthed the spot, he discovered the body of his niece and immediately informed the authorities.
Police arrested Noel and placed him under custody while an investigation is ongoing.
The body of the victim will be subjected to a post-mortem examination and autopsy to determine the cause of her death. INQ