Body found in Almelo identified as 14-year-old girl

A body fond near industrial estate Het Wendelgoor in Almelo on Sunday, was identified as a 14-year-old girl, the police confirmed. Two suspects are in custody, but the police are still investigating what happened to the young girl. Investigators call on witnesses, or people with surveillance camera or dashcam footage that may be relevant, to come forward.

The girl's body was found on Sunday evening after the police received a call stating that there was a body in the water. The two suspects, from Almelo and Wierden, were arrested a few hours later.

"Sources" told newspaper AD that one of the suspects is a minor, calling this a very sad case. A spokesperson for the police would not give the newspaper any details about the suspects' background or their relationship with the victim. She also would not say whether they are suspected of killing the girl. "We are guarding against tunnel vision and are keeping the investigation as broad as possible."

According to AD, the young victim was called Lotte and she attended Zone.college in Almelo. The school informed her classmates, teachers and mentors about her death. Support will be provided to those who need it. A crisis team was convened for this purpose.

School director Andre Hoeben told the newspaper that they have implemented the mourning protocol. The girl's classmates were called in to receive the bad news. "We didn't think we could do this online and inform the children when they were maybe home alone," he said. The teachers are also devastated, he said. "They taught her last week and now she's gone. This is very sad."