WALVIS BAY – The Erongo police yesterday dispatched a team of detectives to Omaruru to investigate the death of a toddler whose lifeless body was discovered close to the Omaruru River on Friday afternoon.
The toddler was left in the care of family members residing at the Omaruru municipal plot when her mother, Linda Tijuana, took her other two children to Omaruru for immunisation on Thursday morning.
The plot is situated 12km outside Omaruru. Inspector Ileni Shapumba of the Erongo police said at the weekend the little girl’s lifeless body was found at around 13h00 in a riverbed, approximately 2km away from the municipal plot.
She allegedly went missing at about 08h00 on Thursday morning but police were only notified about her disappearance on Friday by her mother who was also only informed on Friday that her child is missing.
“What we currently know is that she was in the care of family members when the mother went to Omaruru town. The mother was only notified about her daughter on Friday via a message that her daughter was missing since Thursday morning,” Shapumba said.
According to him, the mother immediately reported the matter to the police.
The officers conducted a search and rescue mission in the vicinity where the child went missing and discovered her body in a riverbed, Shapumba said.
He said no foul play is suspected so far but an autopsy will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death.
This is the second time a minor goes missing from the same plot, however, in the previous case, the toddler was found alive and well.