PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, (CMC) – Trinidad police say a 26-year-old man is assisting their investigations following the death of 12-year-old Mercedez Layne, whose body was discovered on Sunday, in Erin, a coastal village located along the southwestern peninsula in the country .

Police said that Mercedez was reported missing on Saturday by her grandfather, after she had spent the previous night at his residence. The police said the grandfather had placed her into a vehicle, intended to transport the child to her home.

“However, information later received indicated that Mercedez never arrived at her destination. The girl’s mother subsequently went to the Erin Police Station along with the child’s grandfather, and a missing person investigation was immediately launched,”   the police said.