A three-year-old boy, who had gone missing, was found dead in a well at Khankira village under the Nihalprasad police limits in Dhenkanal district on Thursday.
The child went missing while playing in the village on Wednesday evening. His family members searched for him at various places in the locality but in vain.
Fire Service personnel recovered the body while police initiated an investigation into the incident. Though the reason behind the death was yet to be ascertained, it was suspected that the boy was murdered and the body was thrown into the well.
In a similar incident, a three-year-old missing girl had been found dead in a pond at Badhipatna village under the Ranpur police limits in Nayagarh district on Wednesday. Her father alleged that some villagers murdered her.
The girl went missing on December 11 while she was playing near her house.