Missing Child Found Dead
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Gyeonggi Province Police Agency said Thursday it had confirmed that a dismembered body found Tuesday on a mountain in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, was that of Lee Hye-jin, 14, a primary school student who had been missing since Dec. 25.
Police said they confirmed the identification after comparing DNA samples taken from the body and that of her mother.
``The National Institute of Scientific Investigation said DNA from the two was identical,'' a spokesman for the team handling the case said.
Police started to search the site where the body was found and its vicinity with the hope of finding any clues to the whereabouts of Woo Yae-seul, 8, who went missing with Lee. More than 500 police officers and soldiers were involved in sweeping the area.
The two girls were last seen around 5 p.m. last Christmas Day by a supermarket owner running a business near Anyang Culture and Arts Center, and their parents reported them missing that night.
Police initially launched a low-key investigation but publicized it on Dec. 31 after their search for them proved fruitless.