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4 hours ago
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A missing girl who vanished off the streets in Colombia has been found dead in a river.
Laura Páez, nine, had been missing since January 16 when she left her home in Chinquinquirá, a city in the central department of Boyacá, to walk her pet dog and failed to return.
Paez's body was found Tuesday, lying over the rocks on the shore of the Minero River, just hours after the suspect, Daniel Zambrano, was arrested and confessed to abandoning her.
The medical examiner's office was able to identify the body on Wednesday.
Zambrano initially told investigators that he had sexually abused, murdered and dumped Páez in an area of the Minero River located along the border of the departments of Boyacá and Santander.
He then withdrew his statement as part of an attempt to throw off the investigation, which is being led by the Attorney General's Office.
Páez's brother, Diego Velandia, told Caracol Radio that neighbors claimed that Zambrano had been stalking the girl for three weeks.
The child's mother, Miriam Velandia, was at work when she walked out with the dog and did not notice she wasn't home at 3am when she arrived.
The body of Laura Páez was found in a river in Boyacá, Colombia on Tuesday. The nine-year-old had been missing since January 16 when she left her home to walk her dog
Daniel Zambrano was arrested Monday in connection to the disappearance of nine-year-old Laura Páez in Colombia. He confessed he sexually abused, murdered and dumped the girl at a river before he withdrew his statement
Authorities caught a break in the search for Páez when they discovered various surveillance videos that showed Zambrano accompanying the little girl.
One video showed Zambrano walking with Páez inside a store at 8:01pm on January 16.
A second security camera showed the young girl standing next to Zambrano and two people at 8:56pm.
Zambrano then left with Páez in a vehicle that police located an the auto body shop located on the outskirts of Boyacá.
Volunteers and the military canvass the Minero River, where the body of Laura Páez was found Tuesday
Laura Páez was kidnapped January 16 and found dead at a river in Colombia on Tuesday
Authorities believe Zambrano took Páez to the shop before he disappeared her.
'Biological fluids and other details were found during the inspections and are being evaluated by the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences and specialist experts,' the Attorney General's Office said in a statement.
The Attorney General's Office is awaiting the results before they proceed with charging Zambrano with murder.
'We firmly reject any type of violence that threatens the life and integrity of children,' the office of Boyacá Governor Carlos Amaya said in a statement.
'The defense of their rights and the well-being of our children is an unwavering priority for this government.'
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