Police probe death of southern Ill. girl, 8

WEST FRANKFORT — Police in the southern Illinois city of West Frankfort are investigating the death of an 8-year-old girl.

Police Chief Jeff Tharp says the girl’s body was found early Tuesday in her home.

Tharp didn’t immediately identify the girl or say how she died or where in the house the body was found. The Benton Evening News reports that she was found in the home’s crawl space.

The chief calls the death suspicious and says the case is being handled as a homicide.

Tharp says a parent reported the girl missing before the body was found.

An autopsy is planned Wednesday.