Bodies of two young girls found in South Florida canal within hours of each other

Authorities not yet aware if two discoveries are related

The bodies of two young girls have been found in a South Florida canal within hours of one another, authorities have said.

WTVJ reported that investigators made the first discovery at around 12pm on Tuesday, while the second body was found at around 8.45pm the same day.

Police do not know yet what led to the deaths or if there is any connection between the two children.

"We can’t determine at this point if they’re related, because it’s just, the juvenile was just found," Lauderhill police Lieutenant Michael Santiago said on Tuesday.

Mr Santiago said that the case is “complicated” with “a lot of moving parts” but “detectives are trying to piece the puzzle together”.

NBC News reported that police said authorities treat all death investigations as homicides until they are determined to be otherwise.

“It is very alarming, you have a young child found in the water, it is very disturbing in the area and disturbing to the neighbourhood,” Mr Santiago said according to WTVJ.

He added: “So we just want to see what exactly happened to this child and see if she even lives in this particular area.”

According to WPLG police said that both young girls were Black and around 10 to 13 years old.

WKMG-TV said investigators may have identified the first girl, but that they are not yet releasing her identity as family members have not been notified.

WTVJ reported that officials said they did not know how long the first girl had been in the canal, which is situated in Broward County.

A witness who spotted one of the bodies, Lawna Johnson, 51, told WKMG-TV that the situation was “upsetting”. She said: “I see things on TV; I ain’t never seen something real like that.”

“It hurts. It’s like you seen your own child floating in the water,” Ms Johnson told WTVJ.

The Independent has contacted the Lauderhill Police Department for comment.