BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A 2-year-old Serbian girl whose disappearance last month gripped the nation died after being hit by a car and her body was dumped in a landfill by the people in the vehicle, police said Thursday.

Police have arrested two men suspected of hitting Danka Ilic with their vehicle when she walked out of a yard in the eastern town of Bor, Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic said.

The two suspects are employees of the local state waterworks company and were on assignment when they hit the girl with their car, Gasic said.

They picked up the girl’s body, put in the trunk where they kept their tools and drove to a landfill where they dumped the body, Gasic said. They are facing charges of grave murder.

The suspects admitted committing the crime, police said in a statement.

The girl was first reported missing on March 26. Police issued a nationwide alert asking for help and published the girl's photo.

“The girl’s father stopped them in his car and asked if they saw the girl, and they said no,” Gasic said. “One of the men later even joined the search.”

The dayslong ordeal that followed was closely followed by local media and the public in Serbia and the region, prompting concern and sympathy.

Police are still looking for the girl’s body. Gasic said the men probably moved it later to another location.

Hundreds of disappearances are reported annually in Serbia, including children who run away from their homes and abductions.