An 11-year-old girl was found dead following an apparent drowning incident at around 10:20 p.m. on Wednesday in Barangay Bogo, Pagadian City.
Lt. Col. Lee Eric Humpa, Pagadian City police chief, said their personnel responded immediately after receiving a report of the incident.
The victim’s lifeless body was recovered from the river and brought to her residence.
Initial investigation disclosed that the victim and her cousin had attended a dance practice for a school activity earlier that afternoon. When she failed to return home, her family, with the help of relatives and neighbors, launched a search.
Information later revealed that the two children had taken a shortcut across a river despite continuous heavy rainfall and strong currents. The cousin managed to cross safely, but the victim reportedly turned back and was swept away.
At about 10:20 p.m., the victim’s uncle discovered her body lodged against a large log, with her head trapped between rocks along the river.
The City Health Office conducted a post-mortem examination, while the City Social Welfare and Development Office provided psychosocial intervention to the victim’s cousin.
Her remains were subsequently brought to a funeral home