and brutally stabbed to death in a quiet dead-end road.

Rebecca Middleton, 17, was found lying near bushes on Ferry Road by four passers-by early yesterday morning.

According to one of the men who found the Belleville, Ontario teenager had been stabbed in the chest. She was naked and her underclothes were ripped and strewn in bushes.

Det. Ch. Insp. Norrell Hull told the Belleville Intelligencer last night that there was no suggestion of robbery. But he added: "There is some suggestion of sexual assault.'' Ms Middleton had been on the Island visiting friends for just a couple of weeks.

Her grief stricken parents, David and Cynthia, are due to arrive in Bermuda today and last night Mrs. Middleton said: "It's a terrible thing that has happened.

"We are going through a hard time dealing with this. There is nothing I can do about it. All we have is our grief.'' Her father added: "Becky was your normal average teenager. She went to school, hung out with friends.'' Ms Middleton arrived in Bermuda on June 20 with her friend Jasmine Meens and was staying at Jasmine's father's home on Kilderry Estate, in Smith's Parish.

Yesterday morning, the two young women were last seen walking along Mullet Bay Road near Tiger Bay Gardens between 2.30 a.m. and 3.30 a.m. It is not known what they were doing in the area.

However, it appears that at some stage the two became separated and Ms.

Middleton's body was discovered on Ferry Road -- about two kilometres from Mullet Bay Road.

Her body was found at about 3.30 p.m by four men, driving in a car. They spotted her naked body and immediately called the Police.

Last night one of the men told ZBM News: "She was mashed right up. She had been stabbed in her chest.

"We all got back into the car. We did not want to stay because we did not know if there was a person there. We did not want to stay.

"She was completely naked. Her underclothes were ripped and in the bushes on the side of the road. She must have crawled her way into the road.'' Police have set up an incident room and are appealing to the public to help catch Ms Middleton's killer.

The man leading the hunt, Det. Supt. Vic Richmond, yesterday declined to comment on Ms Middleton's injuries, saying it would interfere with the Police investigation.

However he said as a result of an autopsy report Police were treating Ms Middleton's death as murder.

Det. Supt. Richmond confirmed that no-one had been arrested in connection with the incident although his team of detectives were following up several leads.

He also confirmed other people were at the scene where Ms Middleton's body was found when Police arrived.

Last night Jasmine Meens' father, Frederick, said the murder and the attention surrounding the incident had deeply affected his daughter.

"It is tough enough on her as it is,'' he said. "It has devastated this child's parents. It's devastated my family and everybody here.'' An incident room under the command of Det. Insp. Legay Farley has been set up.

Anyone with information is asked to call the incident room at 297-1122 or anonymously at Crime Stoppers at 1-800-623-8477.