Police confirm body of abducted girl, 9, found in waters off eastern China
- Zhang Zixin was taken from her home on the outskirts of Hangzhou on July 4 and a search had been under way for nearly a week
- Officers say she was taken by a couple whose bodies were later discovered in a lake in Ningbo
The body of a nine-year-old girl at the centre of an abduction case that has gripped China has been found after a huge police search in the eastern province of Zhejiang.
According to police, Zhang Zixin was taken from her home on the outskirts of Hangzhou on July 4 by a couple who had just started renting a flat in the family property.
Days later, the couple’s bodies were discovered in a lake in Ningbo, and police said they had taken their own lives.
The girl was last seen in surveillance camera footage on Sunday, and more than 500 police officers were involved in the search this week, with a reward of 20,000 yuan (US$2,900) offered for information on her whereabouts.
On Saturday, police confirmed Zixin’s body had been found in waters near Xiangshan county in Ningbo.
The girl’s disappearance had caught national attention in China over the past week. Zixin had been left in the care of her elderly grandparents at the family home because her parents had separated, with her father living in Tianjin and her mother in Guangdong, City Express reported earlier.