The family of missing 13-year-old Rene Roman was anxious on Wednesday morning amid uncertainty about a body that was found in a house on their street.

“We don’t know for sure. We must just wait and see,” her sombre stepfather Mervin Jacobs told News24.

Police were greeted by a strong stench when they were called out to a house in St Agatha Street, Lavender Hill, on Tuesday morning.

Western Cape police spokesperson FC van Wyk said the smell came from a bungalow at the back of the house.

“When the members opened the bungalow they found a partially decomposed body of an unknown female covered with a carpet,” he said.

Her hands and feet were tied and she was half-naked.

A murder case was opened. No arrests had been made yet.

Van Wyk said the age of the deceased was unknown at this stage.

Reward doubled

“A post-mortem will be conducted to determine cause of death and identity,” he said.

Rene, described by those who know her as quiet and obedient, disappeared around lunchtime on March 10.

She had been helping her mother remove dry washing from the line when she asked to go to the shop to buy chips.

She never made it there, even though the shop is only a few houses away.

Jacobs insisted at the time that Rene would never run away from home. He believed she was taken against her will.

Residents had persistently searched for her.

On Wednesday, Jacobs said all the leads they received turned out to be dead ends.

The reward for anyone with information leading to her being found and returned home safely has been doubled to R20 000.

[Source: News24]