A 12-year-old girl found dead the previous day was the victim of a crime, German police said on Monday.

The girl's body was found on Sunday in a stretch of forest near her home town of Freudenberg, which is a rural village about 80 kilometers (49 miles) east of Cologne in the western state of North-Rhine Westphalia.

What else do we know so far?

The girl had been reported missing on Saturday, after she failed to return home following a visit to a friend.

Local media reported that she had started walking home around 5.30 p.m. local time (1630 GMT).

Police searched for the girl overnight and found the body by Sunday morning.

The criminal investigation department in the city of Koblenz in the neighboring state of Rheinland-Palatine has taken over the investigation.

Police said on Sunday that they could not provide exact details about the cause of death due to an ongoing investigation.

sdi/rc (dpa, AFP)