CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — A 13-year-old girl who went missing while having a picnic with her grandmother was found dead along the beach in Barra, Opol, Misamis Oriental, on Sunday afternoon.
Police said the girl was swimming with other children when she disappeared shortly before noon. A search-and-rescue operation was launched, and her body was found floating several meters from the shoreline. She was rushed to the Northern Mindanao Medical Center but was declared dead on arrival.
This was the second drowning incident in Opol in just two months.
Last 3 June, strong waves swept away and drowned 34-year-old Sherllie Sobrado, a single mother from Malaybalay City who was working as a house helper in Cagayan de Oro. Sobrado had brought her 14-year-old daughter to an isolated beach in Barangay Tabuk for a picnic before the teen returned to Bukidnon for school.
After lunch, Sobrado waded into the water but was suddenly hit by strong waves and pulled away from the shore. She was last seen struggling before disappearing beneath the waves.