The father of tragic five-year-old Lynae Brown was yesterday being quizzed by murder squad detectives. Police said they expected the 20-year-old Warwick man would be appearing in court later this week.

Meanwhile, forensic experts are flying to Bermuda to carry out a post mortem.

And Police have formed a special squad of detectives -- spearheaded by Chief Inspector Carlton Adams -- to carry out the inquiry.

News of Lynae's death left staff and pupils at her school, Paget Primary, dazed. The Education Ministry rushed in specially-trained counsellors to help children come to terms with what had happened.

Lynae, of Tribe Road 1, Warwick, was pulled from water off Hamilton Harbour, near Mizzentop Cottages, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. She was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, but died despite frantic efforts by Police and ambulance staff to revive her. Doctors pronounced her dead at 8 p.m.

It was a tragic end to a search for the youngster launched after she was reported missing just after 6.30 p.m. The Royal Gazette understands two fishermen raised the alarm after seeing Lynae's body floating in the water near Longford Road. One of the fishermen is thought to have gone voluntarily to the Police yesterday to be interviewed.

It was understood Lynae -- still dressed in school uniform -- had been in the company of a young man before her disappearance, Police said. Yesterday Police Commissioner and Acting Assistant Commissioner Vic Richmond held a Press conference to release further details of the tragedy.

The pair -- on the advice of Attorney General Elliott Mottley -- declined to answer key questions: Did Lynae's body show signs of injury, and was it fully-clothed when found in the water.

"Police are treating this as a case of murder and have in custody a 20-year-old Warwick man,'' said Mr. Coxall.

He said an expert forensic pathologist and a doctor from Dade County Medical Examiner's Office in Miami -- a specialist in murder cases -- would be flying to Bermuda for the post mortem.

Mr. Coxall said the murder inquiry team would carry out their investigation under the direction of Mr. Richmond. He went on to appeal for public help.

Anyone in the area of Ord Road and Harbour Road, Warwick, between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesday, who saw a man with a young girl dressed in school uniform, should come forward.

Mr. Coxall said the man was possibly in possession of a motorcycle.

Information can be passed on to the Police Major Incident Room (tel: 299-4314) or the confidential Crime Stoppers number, 1-800-623-8477.

Yesterday a lone Police motorcyclist guarded the site where Lynae's body had been found near the rocks. He kept watch at a small opening in the wall skirting Harbour Road which led to a jetty 20 feet below, a popular spot for fishermen. Either side of the jetty are rocks, undergrowth, shrubs and pieces of twisted metal, perhaps dumped at the site.

Overlooking the scene is Mizzentop, a private and select estate of whitewashed condominiums. Many are empty, the owners only living in them a few weeks of the year. Seventy-seven-year-old Richard Hill, from Massachusetts, lives with his wife, Polly, in one of the condos almost directly opposite the murder scene.

He told The Royal Gazette how he was sitting on his porch on Tuesday night after dinner when he became aware of an ongoing drama below. "I saw the red and green runner lights of a fibre-glass rescue boat head towards the shore and I heard a voice say `Is someone still in the water?'.

"I looked down and saw Police cars blocking off the front of Longford Road.

Two emergency vans had also arrived on the scene. I watched what was going on and saw a lot of Police and rescue personnel.

"There were lots of floodlights on the rocks. The power was coming from an emergency generator. It seemed to me like a very well planned and thorough operation. There was a lot of equipment.'' Mr. Hill, retired chairman of the Bank of Boston, reckoned some 30 or 35 emergency personnel were involved, watched by a handful of onlookers.

"I did not see them find anything, although over the wall there was a black woollen parka. I heard one Policeman tell another `don't touch it. It is going to be examined'.'' Mr. Hill said Policemen scoured the shoreline, looking in the bushes, in an apparent hunt for clues.

"Quite honestly I think by that time the body had already been taken from the water and the Police were probably searching for evidence.

"I still did not know what was going on. It was only when I read The Royal Gazette this morning that I found out. It was quite a shock, as you can imagine.'' Other Mizzentop residents also expressed horror at the tragedy.

"It's very sad. I was here last night but did not know anything about what happened. I only read the news in the paper,'' said Thomas Dyson, Bermuda's former Archdeacon.

A woman in a house off Longford Road said she had heard Police sirens at about 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

"I was out gardening until it got dark and did not hear or see anything unusual. Usually the dogs begin barking if there are any prowlers or anything strange happens, but they were quiet. I'm really shocked. You never believe something like this can occur in your backyard.'' become the only talking point.

In Ord Road, near the Lines store, one woman told The Royal Gazette she had spoken to one of the fishermen who first saw the body.

"He is in a state of shock and has been to the Police. He doesn't want to talk to anybody else right now. He told me he went fishing with his friend and they saw this child's body. When he saw her he started crying.'' A woman employee at Lines said: "This guy came into the store at about 6.30 p.m. and said `hey there's someone outside looking for a child. He wants to know if anybody has seen anything'.

"I told him nobody had seen anything and the man left. Of course, everybody around here is shocked by what had happened.'' A neighbour of Lynae's grandparents remembered the youngster as "a sweet child''.

"She used to play in the street with the other children. She was just beautiful.'' MURDERED -- Lynae Brown