POLICE Regional Office 7 director, Brigadier General Roque Edgardo Vega on Thursday announced the capture of a teenager accused of killing a 10-year old girl and hiding her body inside a cave in Talisay City in Cebu last Sunday.

In a report to Philippine National Police chief, General Dionardo B. Carlos, the Central Visayas police director identified the arrested suspect as Ian Rey Bacuili alias ‘Ian Cabrera,’ an 18-year old construction worker residing in Sitio Didos, Barangay Lawaan in Talisay City.

Brig. Gen. Vega said that the suspect was tracked down by officers in his hiding place in Bgy. Campo 7 in Minglanilla municipality by members of the Talisay City Police Station 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“The suspect who happened to be a relative of the victim was arrested following a tip from a concerned citizen regarding his presence in their area,” said the official.

Brig. Gen. Vega said that at least seven witnesses have positively identified Baculi as the suspect in the killing of Kiara Mae Namanama, the youngest among five siblings last January 6.

An investigation showed that the victim asked permission from her siblings and cousin to join their mother who was washing clothes about 200 meters away from their residence in Sitio Napo in Bgy. Tapul. She failed to return home after a day.

The official said that three days after the family filed a missing person report at the local police station, the Talisay City police received a report about the discovery of a decomposing body inside a cave near a river in the city. Officers rushed to the site and found the victim’s body covered with a pile of rocks which the family identified the body as that of the missing child.

Brig. Gen. Vega lauded the Talisay police force for their swift action that led to the arrest of the suspect.

The suspect is now being held at the Talisay City police headquarters facing criminal charges. Local police investigators are also looking into the possibility that the victim could have been raped before she was killed.

According to Brig. Gen. Vega, the victim’s family has expressed the belief that the young girl was abducted and raped.

“A complete forensic investigation is underway right now to determine if indeed the victim was sexually abused,” said Gen. Carlos as he vowed justice for the victim and her family.

He said that the PNP Forensic Group is assisting the Talisay City police in investigating the case.