Leyla Aydemir was reported lost on June 15 after she came from the city center with her parents to visit her grandfather in the village of Bezirhane.
For 18 days, teams have dugs holes, closely inspected reed fields, and headed down wells around the village, but they had been unable to bring back good news.
Aydemir was finally found dead on the shore of a creek on July 2 some three kilometers away from the village.
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said late on July 2 that the area was “repeatedly searched” in the past two weeks.
“We think she may have been carried there [after she died], but we should wait for the autopsy results,” he said during a live interview with private broadcaster CNN Türk.
'No mark of assault or injury'
Governor Elban said the red spots on the little girl’s body were initially thought to be the result of an assault, but this possibility has now been ruled out as experts have determined they were a result of sunburn.
“There is no mark of assault or injury on her body. There is also no sign of sexual abuse,” the governor said on July 2, stressing that three prosecutors are continuing the investigation into a possible kidnapping.
“One suspect has been detained,” the governor added.