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| Police on Tuesday search for the mother of a young girl who was found dead two days ago on northern Jeju Island. Yonhap |
By Jung Min-ho
A mother might have killed her three-year-old daughter before committing suicide on Jeju Island, police said Tuesday.
According to the Jeju Provincial Police Agency, the mother and daughter took a taxi to an area near a beach on northern Jeju about 2:30 a.m. Friday. The girl was found dead at the beach on Sunday. Police are searching for the mother.
Police have also discovered that the woman, 33, a Paju resident whose surname is Jang, bought charcoal, bottled butane and a lighter on Thursday, the day after the two arrived on Jeju.
Surveillance camera footage shows the girl was alive when the two left their motel before taking the taxi.
Given that there were burn marks on their room's bathroom floor, police believe the mother might have attempted to kill herself and her daughter there.
Police have also found that they bought a one-way airplane ticket to the island.
Police are looking for the taxi driver who took them to the beach, to get a clearer picture of why they went there at such an early hour.
Police are also waiting for the result of an autopsy on the girl's body.
"If we can confirm whether the girl inhaled gases from charcoal or bottled butane, we would be able to understand more about the case," a police officer said. "For now, we are focusing on finding the mother."
