“There’s a lot of evidence that this is the body of the girl,” said local head prosecutor Ralf Lechte, whose office is handling the investigation.
The identity of the body will now be checked using dental records and DNA evidence, according to authorities. Confirmation will not be available until Wednesday afternoon at the earliest, they said.
Katharina was hiking with her mother and sister on the day after Christmas when the the cliff they were walking on collapsed, and the girl disappeared under tonnes of sand and mud. Her mother and sister were injured in the accident.
Officials have been using heavy machinery for the last month in an attempt to locate the girl’s body, although they have been forced to call of the search several times due to horrific weather conditions.
Following Katharina’s disappearance officials stepped up inspections of cliffs on Rügen and the neighbouring island of Hiddensee, where they have since blocked off large areas of coastline for fear of landslides.
The Local/DAPD/DPA/mdm
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