A 10-year-old girl who failed to return home after visiting family nearby Sunday in western Wisconsin has been found dead, police said.
The body of Iliana “Lily” Peters was located in the woods at 9:15 a.m. Monday near her aunt’s home close to the walking trail at the end of Grove Street and the Leinenkugel’s brewery parking lot, police said.
Police said they suspect that Lily is a victim of homicide, but no arrests have been announced. Police said they would have more to say later Monday about the discovery.
This is the same location where police said earlier that a bike they believe belonged to Lily was found.
Lily, a fourth-grader at Parkview Elementary School, was last seen by relatives while visiting an aunt’s home in Chippewa Falls in the 400 block of N. Grove Street, according to police.
Her father notified police at about 9 p.m. Sunday that his daughter was missing. The girl lives about four blocks from her aunt’s house.
The woods were searched by K-9 teams from the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office and Chippewa Falls Police Department. A Sheriff’s Office drone was deployed as part of the search.
Search teams also went door-to-door through the night in an effort to determine the girl’s whereabouts.
Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact police at 715-726-7701 and choose option 1.