A missing four-year-old girl from the small town of Dewetsdorp in the Free State has been found dead.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Thabo Covane says police had been searching for Reitumetse Madibeng for almost a week and eventually discovered her lifeless body in a veld on Thursday.
He says two women, aged 19 and 20 are currently in police custody for child neglect, although a case of murder is now under investigation..
The suspects were walking to a nearby farm last Saturday with Reitumetse and her two-year-old sister when the victim allegedly became tired.
They left her resting under a tree and continued walking home.
Covane says they informed Madibeng's mother that they left the child behind and she immediately informed police.
This led to an extensive search in the area and the arrest of the two women on charges of child neglect.
Madibeng's cause of death was not divulged.
The two women remain in custody and will appear in court next week to apply for bail.
