Police outside an Auchenflower apartment building where an 11-year-old girl was found dead. Credit:Seven News The girl's mother fled the scene and was the subject of a major search in the inner-west in the ensuing hours. The hunt also ended in tragedy however, when the 49-year-old's body was found by passersby in neighbouring Toowong just before 5.30am. Acting Superintendent Sheldon said while investigations remained in their preliminary stages, police believe she took her own life. The girl's 65-year-old father, who was asleep in the unit when his daughter died, is being questioned by police

The girl's body was found in the Auchenflower apartment, while her mother's body was found hours later in Toowong. Credit:Kristian Silva "He's horrendously upset, he's with us at the moment to try to explain what has gone on in relation to the whole night's affair," Superintendent Sheldon said. Sheryl Hall, who cleans several units inside the complex, described the two young girls who lived in the apartment as "always being quiet and polite". Ms Hall said she often saw the girls when just as they were being dropped off, or returning, from school. "They are beautifully well-behaved children," she said.

Ms Hall said she had cleaned their penthouse apartment before but did not know the couple well. Property records show the pair had owned the apartment for about 12 years. She said 49-year-old woman and 65-year-old man were having relationship difficulties. A crime scene has been established at the Dunmore Terrace complex in Auchenflower, where forensic officers spent the morning analysing the scene for clues. Officers were seen taking 3D crime scene scanning technology into the building. Acting Superintendent Sheldon said police were still trying to piece together how the girl died. He said the deaths were, "one of those tragedies that come out of left field".

"As you can imagine, there is nothing much more horrific than than this, it was a violent death and quite traumatic for those officers involved as well as other emergency services and again, the further tragedy has evolved this morning," he said. "At this stage we are trying to ascertain how the first child died and who is responsible for that. "(The investigation) is in its preliminary stages, we have a family literally decimated as far as things go and we don't know who fits where as far as the puzzle goes." Neighbours who called emergency services to the apartment where the girl died were "concerned" about what was happening inside, Acting Superintendent Sheldon said, however, he would not elaborate on the nature of the concerns. He said the girl and her mother lived there with the girl's eight-year-old sister and the pair's 65-year-old father.

He said the eight-year-old was not at home when her sister died. Early risers in Toowong found the mother's body about 5.20am and phoned police, he said. "Members of the public came across the body and phoned police and we made the tragic correlation it was the mother from earlier tonight," he said. "We are in the early stages of investigation and trying to piece together what has happened and how it has unfolded in such a tragic way." Forensic officers would spend much of the day examining both scenes, he said.

The girl's death comes exactly three months after a six-year-old girl was found dead in her home in Brisbane's north, about 10 kilometres east of where the 11-year-old died on Tuesday. Sidney Playford's father Stephen has been charged with her murder, along with the attempted murder of her eight-year-old sister. - with Kristian Silva If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For further information about depression contact beyondBlue on 1300 224 636. Stay informed. Like the Brisbane Times Facebook page