Police retrieve fourth human remains in relation to Takoradi missing girls case
The team of police forensic experts which has begun work to unravel the mystery surrounding the recovery of the remains of three persons in a cesspit at Kansaworodo, a suburb of Takoradi, has discovered another full human skeleton in a well in an uncompleted building at Nkroful, also in the twin city metropolis.
Last Friday, the police in an operation found three skulls and the skeletal remains believed to be those of the three girls who went missing between August and December last year and for which 28-year-old Samuel Udoetuk-Willis is being held as prime suspect.
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The cesspit from which the remains were found, serves the house from where Udoetuk-Willis rented a single room apartment.
On Tuesday, the team of forensic experts found the fourth remains, incidentally in the uncompleted building from where the prime suspect was rearrested after his escape from lawful custody on December 30, 2018 at about 6.25 p.m.
“I must say that where the current body was discovered was the same place where the dress, the headgear and the rubber slippers the third victim wore when she was kidnapped,” a police source made the revelation to the Daily Graphic.
The police have contacted the family who last year July, reported of their missing granddaughter to the Kojokrom Police Station, as they suspect the remains could be those of the girl, 18-year-old Ruth Abakah.
First evidence
The source said after the forensic team had completed its initial work at the crime scene at Kansaworodo, it decided to move to where he was rearrested for more clues to aid their investigation.
“The investigative team was greeted with darkness at the scene at Nkroful last Friday, and a cursory search with the help of a torchlight revealed an abandoned well.
“When the team threw the torchlight onto the well, they saw some unusual bubbles and accumulation of some substance on the surface of the water,” the source said.
Operation
The source said convinced that the bubbles were unusual and could provide further information, the team returned to base to strategise, and early yesterday morning, moved to the area to conduct further search, and with the help of the Ghana National Fire Service, they carefully drew the water from the well.
“The team was shocked to discover another human remains at the bottom of the well after which they went down to recover the skeletons,” the source gave details of the latest findings.
Location
The current location from where the fourth remains were discovered is part of Nkroful town but very isolated as one of the peri-urban areas of the Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis.
There is no access road to the place, except a footpath after branching off the main rough road through Nkroful.
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The fourth person
Last year, Mr Emmanuel Kobina Anza walked into the offices of the Western Regional office of the Graphic Communications Group Ltd to request that his granddaughter, Ruth Abakah, be added to the list of missing or kidnapped girls to increase the number to four and not three.
Mr Anza told the Daily Graphic then that his granddaughter went missing in July 2018. The case was first reported to the Kojokrom Police and later transferred to the Takoradi District Command.
To verify his claims, the Daily Graphic correspondent led him to the District and Regional Commands of the Ghana Police Service, where it was confirmed that Mr Anza about a year ago, had reported of his missing granddaughter.
The grandfather further explained to the Daily Graphic that the police began investigations after he received a call that his granddaughter had been kidnapped and an amount of money not less than GH¢200,000 had been demanded as ransom.
“The next call we received directed us to the frontage of my petty shop and it said a number had been left under a stone for me to contact them.
“We went to the shop and the number was under the stone just as the caller had indicated,” Mr Anza had revealed.
“Given the coincidence, I thought my granddaughter was playing a prank on me so I ignored it, but after the number had been left in front of my shop, we called and said we could only afford GH¢200.
“The caller thus asked me to send the money to the number provided which I did, and then he further instructed me to pick up my granddaughter at Fijai Junction the next morning.
“Eager to see her, we went to Fijai Junction but to our total dismay and disappointment, we spent the entire day at that junction, but never saw the caller nor my granddaughter,” he narrated.
Claims corroborated
Mr Anza said when he later called the number which had earlier communicated with him, the speaker at the other end told him that standing and waiting for a whole day was his punishment for not paying the initial GH¢200,000 they had demanded as ransom.
The police yesterday confirmed that they had contacted Mr Anza to help the team in the investigation in view of the latest discovery at Nkroful.
Meanwhile, the police team of forensic and crime scene experts has returned to Accra with its latest findings.
The source said the team would return to the scene in due course to continue with investigations.
