The dead body of a teenage girl has been found in the woods with at least three stab wounds a week after she went missing.

Ariane Barbara Laureano de Oliveira, 18, disappeared when she left home to meet up with friends in the Brazilian city of Goiania on Tuesday, 24th August.

Her body was found in an advanced state of decomposition in an area of woodland within the city limits on the morning of Tuesday, 31st August.

The body was found after residents told the police about a bad smell coming from the area, and the victim had to be identified from her fingerprints.

According to police chief Marcos Gomes, the teen’s body had “at least three stab wounds”, and he reported that no arrests had been made as of 12.20 pm on Wednesday, 1st September.

He said: “Some people, friends and relatives of the victim, were heard, but we are not going to divulge more information so as not to hinder the investigations.”

On the night Ariane left home to ostensibly meet with her friends, she sent her mother an audio message hours later saying she was coming home. However, she failed to show up.

Her mother, Eliana Laureano, is said to be “very shaken”.

According to news site Brasil Urgente, the victim’s family told the police the teen owed money over a tattoo.

However, the tattoo artist in question was questioned, and the police are not considering this hypothesis as the main line of investigation.

The police probe continues.