• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A teenager who was reported missing on July 29 was found dead on August 13, inside a sugarcane plantation at Hacienda San Roque, Barangay Cubay, La Carlota City, Negros Occidental.
The 15-year-old victim, Pearl Joy Galve, a Grade 10 student of Sum-ag National High School in Bacolod City, was positively identified by her mother, Jennifer, through the clothes and white shoes she was wearing.
The Initial investigation of the La Carlota City police indicated that the cadaver of the victim was already in an advanced state of decomposition when discovered yesterday by a farm worker, inside a sugarcane field, about 700 meters from the main road.
According to Genalyn Malunes, an aunt of the victim, her niece’s hands were tied behind her back and her mouth was covered by duct tape.
Malunes said her niece failed to return home from school on July 29.
Authorities are still trying to determine the cause of death of the victim.*
