RAMBERVILLERS, April 26 — French police have detained a teenage boy after a five-year-old girl was found dead in a bin bag in the east of the country, local authorities and media said yesterday.

The girl’s remains were found in an apartment in the town of Rambervillers in the Vosges region, the mayor, Jean-Pierre Michel, told AFP.

He said the parents, a Romanian family living in the town of 5,000 people, had reported their daughter missing shortly prior to her discovery.

"The girl was found in the apartment, lifeless,” he said.

According to regional daily Le Republicain Lorrain, the victim was found in a rubbish bag in an apartment around one hundred metres from her home.

A source close to the investigation, who asked not to be named, said the teenager was arrested in the apartment where the girl’s body was found.

Michel said the suspect, who was "15 or 16 years old”, was known to authorities for "acts related to sexual abuse” of young children.

Le Republicain Lorrain said the teenager had suffered psychiatric problems and was in a "specialised institution” until only a few weeks ago. — AFP