TRAGIC

Body of Young Girl Found in Duffel Bag Off California Trail

Police say the girl was likely dumped there over the weekend, before county officials found the body on Tuesday.

The body of a young girl has been found near an equestrian walking trail in a suburb about 20 miles east of Los Angeles, NBC News reports. The unidentified girl’s body was found in a black duffel bag off the Hacienda Heights trail, and it was likely dumped Sunday evening, Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies said Wednesday. Workers reportedly found the body while doing maintenance work in the area Tuesday morning. The girl, who is African American and thought to be between 8 and 13 years old, was pronounced dead at the scene. Lt. Scott Hoglund told reporters in a press conference Wednesday that the girl was 4-feet-5 and weighed around 55 pounds. “Investigators did not observe any obvious signs of trauma to the victim’s body,” he said, adding that the death was being treated as a “suspicious death investigation.” An autopsy on the girl’s body has yet to be completed by the county’s medical examiner. No matches to the girl were reportedly found in missing children databases, and officials intend to distribute flyers to schools. A composite sketch released by the department shows a girl wearing a pink “future hero” long-sleeved t-shirt and grey pants with pandas on them.