Two girls who went missing on International Children's Day were found dead in the room of a neighbor, police in Dalian of Liaoning province said on Friday.

The suspect, surnamed Li, 36, has confessed to the killing. He said he lured the two girls to his apartment and then killed them.

On Thursday afternoon, a man surnamed Nan reported to police at Dalian's Xigang district that his 7-year-old granddaughter and a 9-year-old girl who is their neighbor were missing after playing downstairs at about 10 am on Thursday.

The city command center deployed police officers across the city, while many residents and internet users volunteered to join the search.

While investigating, police noticed that Li, who lived on the first floor of the building, was acting strange, and later found the two girls' bodies in his room.

According to a police statement, Li was born in Dalian. He had been convicted four times for theft and had spent a total of 15 years in prison.

The neighbors were shocked by the case. Many of them said that Li was only let out of prison several months ago.

"That's really cruel. The girls live next door to each other on the fifth floor. We always see them playing downstairs. I can't believe that they were killed by a neighbor," said a neighbor who asked not to be named.

The police did not reveal the criminal motive or more details about the crime. The case is under further investigation.

zhangxiaomin@chinadaily.com.cn