A second young girl’s body found in a canal behind condos in Broward, police say

A second young girl’s body was found in the same Lauderhill canal where another girl’s body was found earlier in the day, Lauderhill police said Tuesday night.

Lauderhill police Lt. Michael Santiago said the body — believed to be that of a girl between 10 and 13 years old — was found at around 8:45 p.m. in the 2200 block of Northwest 59th Way, just east of the first discovery.

Santiago said the discovery has gone from a missing persons case to a homicide investigation. Police believe they have identified the first girl, but still haven’t released names.

At around noon, the body of a girl — also between the ages of 10 and 13 — was found in the canal behind a condominium complex. It was not immediately clear how long the girls had been in the canal or whether the discoveries were connected.

Detectives were working late into the night “to piece together the puzzle.”

“It’s a very complicated case with a lot of moving parts,” Santiago said.

In trying to identify the first girl, detectives cross-referenced missing person reports, and nothing matched, Santiago said.

The same procedure is being used for the second body, Santiago said.

The first girl was Black, between 4 feet and 5 feet tall, and she was wearing blue jean shorts and a gray shirt with “Dance” in rainbow colors.

A neighbor in the area shared with the Miami Herald a video of the second girl. She was also Black and looked young. She was wearing a gray shirt with three cartoon-style Black women. Her hands were pale white and there was a white substance on her face.

Police still have not released an official description of the second victim.

“Here we have two very young girls found deceased in a canal,” Santiago said. “We need to find out the circumstances that led up to that.”

Anyone who knows anything about what happened to these children should call Lauderhill Police Department, 954-497-4700, or Broward Crime Stoppers, 954-493-8477 (TIPS).

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