Mthatha – Two men and a woman have been arrested for the abduction and murder of a 10-year-old girl from Misty Mount in Libode, Eastern Cape police said on Sunday.

One of the suspects arrested is the 30-year-old father of the girl, Lieutenant Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela said.

The trio, aged between 22 and 30, is expected to appear in the Libode Magistrate’s Court on Monday on charges of abduction.

They will then appear in the Tsolo Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on charges of murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm.

According to Fatyela, the girl was allegedly abducted by her father and his fiancé from her school in Misty Mount and was later found dead in a forest in the town of Tsolo, about an hour and half away from Libode.

“The child allegedly left her father and his fiancé because they were allegedly mistreating her. She went to go stay with her grandmother.

“They went to school, and abducted her. They were arrested by the organised crime unit,” said Fatyela.

Fatyela said that the suspects initially approached authorities, claiming that the 10-year-old had been kidnapped, but during interrogation, they admitted that they had kidnapped the child.