A 21-year-old missing girl was found dead on a country road with her hands tied and her body riddled with bullets in an execution-style killing.

Victim Ellen Nascimento da Silvan left the family home in Brasnorte, west-central Brazil, on the 19th of April to visit a friend’s house.

But it was the last time that she would be seen alive.

After she vanished without a trace, her family searched frantically for her, but with no success and as a result, registered her as a missing person.

Now the family’s worst fears have been confirmed after Ellen’s horrifically wounded body was found dumped on a rural street three days later (April 22).

Her hands were bound and her body was covered in gunshot wounds.

The Civil Police (Brazil’s investigative police force) said a tractor driver on a nearby farm noticed the young woman’s body on a curve in the road.

It was already in a state of decomposition when it was spotted.

The tractor driver called the police and, after a forensic examination, the body was identified as Ellen.

Her father also confirmed it was her.

Police in Brasnorte (population 20,140 in 2020) are investigating the crime. They say the motive is unclear.

Her mum said Ellen had been planning to travel but then gave up on the idea shortly before she went missing.

Investigations are ongoing.