Investigators seek public's help to ID girl found dead off California hiking trail

Investigators in California are trying to identify a girl who was found dead near a Hacienda Heights hiking trail, authorities said Wednesday.

According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, county employees found the girl's body Tuesday morning "partially inside a black, rollaway-type duffel bag" down an embankment. Detectives believe she died about 48 hours earlier, and someone left her remains there Sunday evening, KTTV reported.

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The Sheriff's Department released sketches of the girl, along with photos of the bag and her clothes, on Wednesday. Officials described her as a 4-foot-5, 8- to 13-year-old black girl weighing about 55 pounds. She was wearing a pink shirt with "Future Princess Hero" written on the front and gray panda-print pants, deputies said.

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Sheriff's officials said the body showed "no obvious signs of trauma" but called the death "suspicious."

"Investigators will spare no efforts to find out what happened," Sheriff Alex Villanueva said.

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PRESS CONFERENCE: LASD Homicide Detectives Release Composite Sketch of Little Girl Found Dead Near Hiking Trail in Hacienda Heights

PRESS CONFERENCE: LASD Homicide Detectives Release Composite Sketch of Little Girl Found Dead Near Hiking Trail in Hacienda Heights

Posted by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Officials urged anyone who has information about the case to call the Sheriff's Department's homicide unit at 323-890-5500 or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-8477 or using the P3 Tips mobile app.

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