A 7-year-old girl has been found dead at her home in Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi province, China Daily learned from police on Tuesday.

A source from the Yanta Branch of the Xi'an Public Security Bureau said the girl lived with her mother in the village of Dongqujiang Shicun in the city's Yanta district and was found dead at her home by villagers on Jan 17. Police preliminarily judged the girl had died of hunger and detained the girl's mother, who was said to suffer from mental health problems, which is expected to be confirmed by medical evaluation.

According to the villagers, the girl's parents divorced and the girl did not attend kindergarten or primary school and was rarely seen in the village.

Further investigation is continuing.