Los Angeles County police release sketch of girl whose body was found on hiking trail

Police in the Los Angeles suburb of Hacienda Heights have released a sketch of a young Black girl whose body was found partially inside a suitcase on a popular hiking trail.

Melanie Eversley

Mar 8, 2019

homicide — Sketch of girl whose body was found in suburban LA

Police in the Los Angeles suburb of Hacienda Heights have released a sketch of a young Black girl whose body was found partially inside a suitcase on a popular hiking trail.

In the sketch that police released Wednesday, the girl has her hair up in a bun and is wearing a pink, long-sleeved shirt with the words “FUTURE PRINCESS HERO” on the front. She also is wearing multi-colored pants or tights and is barefoot. Police drew the sketch from the actual clothing that was found on the girl. The sketch also includes a photo of the long, rolling black bag in which the girl’s body was partially hidden.

Workers found the girl’s body on Tuesday in some bushes, CBS LA is reporting. Police believe the body was dumped there sometime on Sunday but they are not sure when she died, according to the news organization.

“Sad moment for the department, for the community, and we’re going to do our best to figure out what led to the suspicious death,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villaneuva told the television station.

“Did not observe any obvious signs of trauma to the victim’s body,” Lt. Scott Hoglund of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told CBS LA. “The incident is being ruled a suspicious death investigation.”

Investigators say they believe the girl was between 8 and 13-years-old and that she weighed about 55 pounds.

Investigators said they are reviewing security tape from a Buddhist temple near the site and that they are awaiting results from the girl’s autopsy. They also have made fliers that they are handing out to schools, missing persons groups and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services to see if there is a match with anyone who is missing, according to CBS LA.

Police said they are not sure of the girl’s cause of death.