TEARS FLOWED freely down the faces of the women of Inverness district in Sandy Bay, Clarendon, yesterday morning as they wept openly for the life of another of Jamaica's young daughters.

The decomposed body of 10-year-old Tamieka Thompson, was found just 300 feet from her home in the rural district, days after she was reported missing.

Tamieka, a student of the Freetown Primary School in Freetown, Clarendon, was last seen at 5 p.m. on May 4 after she left home to visit her grandmother in nearby Terrance.

She was reported missing by her mother, Theresa Bennett, the following day, after it was discovered she never made it to her destination.

Yesterday, family and community members launched an intense search for the athletic 10-year-old-girl, whose body was later found in bushes behind her house.

Police reports are that the remains of the child were discovered hidden by two bags, one covering her head and a part of her torso, while the other was pulled over her legs.

cause of death not known

Detectives on the scene theorise that the two bags were used, as one was too small to cover her entire body.

Up to press time yesterday, a post-mortem had not been conducted to establish the cause of death.

The police also could not determine whether Tamieka had been sexually assaulted.

They also sought to dismiss rumours that the child's body had been found headless.

Denise Moodie, Tamieka's teacher, described her as a loving and athletic child.

She said the 10-year-old was always laughing and was never able to hold a grudge.

The teacher said that Tamieka's death had taken a toll on her grade-four classmates, who were all saddened by the incident. Yesterday, guidance counsellors from the Ministry of Education and other nearby schools conducted counselling sessions with the students.

Tamieka's vicious death brings back memories of the murder of 11-year-old Ananda Dean, whose decomposed body was found last September, also days after she went missing.

Close to 100 children were murdered in 2008.

Coordinator of the Child Month Committee, Dr Pauline Mullings, decried the act, saying that the adults of the nation needed to do more to protect the children. "It's a sad and terrible condition we're in, as our children are faced with all kinds of abuse," she said.

innocence not valued

Dr Mullings lamented the idea that the society no longer valued the life or innocence of its children. "I just hope that the law will get stricter on these things and try to see if we can stem this outrageous behaviour against our children," she said.

Mullings further called for citizens to love and shield the nation's children from harm and danger.