A little boy who went missing on Sunday evening in Mabutsane village was found dead on Tuesday morning.
Seven-year-old Clinton Gosiame Rantsho was sent to the tuck-shop by his grandmother to buy a drink and never returned.
He was new in the village after relocating from Khakhea village to live with his grandmother in Mabutsane and enrol for standard one.
It is suspected that since he was not familiar with the new place, Rantsho got lost either on his way to the tuck shop or on his way back.
Confirming the incident Mabutsane police station commander, Superintendent Batani Lehuma said the boy’s relatives and neighbours conducted the search in the neighbourhood on the day the boy went missing around 5pm.
The following day which was a Monday morning they reported Rantsho to the police as missing and the search continued.
He was found dead about 4 kilometres west of Mabutsane next to an old gravel road to Kokong.
Although unconfirmed social media reports claim that the little boy was discovered with missing body parts, Superintendent Lehuma refuted the allegations.
“The boy’s corpse was found in a good state without injuries or missing body parts. Village elders, members of the community and the parents who were available witnessed that. We suspect he died because of exhaustion from walking, hunger and thirst,” said Lehuma advising parents to always to take care of their children and to warn them about issues of child trafficking.