The Hanover police have launched a probe into the murder of a 10-year-old schoolgirl whose body was found in bushes, hours after her mother reported her missing to the police on Wednesday.

It is being theorised that she was raped and then murdered. A suspect is now in police custody.

The deceased has been identified as Nikita Noel, also called Jojo, of Kew District in Hanover. She attended Esher Primary School.

Reports are that the little girl left home for school at approximately 7am on Wednesday.

When she didn't return home from school later that evening at the usual time, her mother became concerned and went to the Lucea Police Station and reported her missing. 

A subsequent search in the community by police, with the aid of residents, led to the discovery of Nikita's body in bushes at the side of the road some distance from her house, at approximately 7:30pm.

Superintendent Sharon Beeput, who heads the Hanover Police Division, said that the suspect was taken into custody on Wednesday night.

In a tweet Thursday morning, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith condemned the killing.

A few hours earlier, State Minister on the Ministry of Health and Wellness Juliet Cuthbert Flynn also commented on the killing.

"I weep for our children. I cannot imagine the 10 year old being raped then killed. Men who rape our girls under 16 and impregnate should be sought/ arrested/ placed on sex offender registry for all to see," she tweeted, tagging the Jamaica Constabulary Force in the tweet.