Missing girl believed to have drowned, police say

A high school student whose body was found in a river on Tuesday was believed to have drowned, local police confirmed on Thursday, ruling out homicide.

On Jan 7, police in Zizhong county, Sichuan province, received a report that the whereabouts of an 18-year-old student surnamed Cao was unknown, according to a statement by police on Thursday.

Police soon organized a search for the teen in the surrounding areas.

On Tuesday afternoon, a body found in a stretch of the Tuojiang River near a community in Zizhong was confirmed to be that of Cao, the statement said.

After a comprehensive investigation and autopsy, Cao was believed to have drowned, police said. Cao's family were informed of and raised no doubts about the conclusion, it said.

On Wednesday, her brother posted a message on WeChat reading, "My sister, rest in peace", according to local news outlet Cover.cn.

He was quoted as saying that his sister's body had been discovered on Tuesday — exactly one month since her disappearance.

Cao was a senior high school student who was planning to sit for the national college entrance exam this summer. On Jan 7, she was absent from an evening class, claiming she had a foot injury, according to a report from Cover.cn.

The report said that Cao sent her friend a strange text message on the night she disappeared, and the friend and one of Cao's classmates soon informed her teacher about the message.

The teacher immediately contacted Cao's family after speaking with the students. That night, police, her family and school workers were mobilized to look for the teen.

According to an earlier statement by police, they found a mask and black down coat on Jan 8 near the river, both of which were identified as Cao's.

In the following days, the police, family and school employees continued searching for Cao around the river, with professional rescue teams joining the effort, until her body was discovered on Tuesday.