Missing eight-year-old found dead in a sack

After a search of around three weeks, eight-year-old girl Narin Güran was found dead. Her body was discovered in a river in southeastern Turkey.

Narin Güran, an eight-year-old girl who had been missing since August 21, has been found dead in Turkey. The child's body was discovered about one kilometer from her home village in the province of Diyarbakır, according to the provincial governor Murat Zorluoğlu. After the child's disappearance, the police launched a huge search operation, which also involved divers and sniffer dogs.

Now there is sad certainty: the girl is dead. The body was reportedly found in a sack that was hidden in a river. “According to initial findings, she was put in a sack after her murder. The sack was then placed in the river and hidden under branches and stones so as not to arouse suspicion,” said Zorluoglu.

The public prosecutor's office in Diyarbakir has so far arrested 21 people in connection with Narin's disappearance. Among the suspects is the girl's uncle, who is being investigated on suspicion of murder. Narin's parents and brother have also been arrested, according to television reports.

The last images of her before her disappearance were taken by the Koran school's surveillance camera, Turkish media reported. The footage, taken on August 21 at 3:15 p.m., shows her walking with four friends and then splitting up to go home along a mountain path. Her father had reported the girl missing at around 8 p.m. on the day of her disappearance, when she was not picked up from a Koran class.

The case has attracted national attention and sympathy. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also made a statement after the bodies were found: “The sad news of the fate of Narin, who was brutally murdered, has shocked us all deeply.” He announced that he would continue to pursue the case to ensure that those responsible receive the harshest punishment.

Women's rights activists and the pro-Kurdish opposition party DEM have called for participation in demonstrations after the fund was found.