RUSSIAN cops are on the hunt for a sinister “serial killing sex attacker” who is suspected of targeting young children with eye squints.

       Eight girls and one boy are feared to be the victims of the suspect’s horrific crimes in Tyumen, Russia that dates back to 1997.

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       A number of children have vanished from the city of Tyumen, Russia Credit: East2West 5

       The latest, Nastya Muravyova, was found in a lake last week Credit: East2West

       The latest to fall victim to the evil predator was missing nine-year-old victim Nastya Muravyova - whose naked body was found dead last week in Obrochny Lake.

       The grisly discovery came seven weeks after she was last captured on CCTV going to a sweet shop wearing yellow capris and pink trainers.

       Her body was wrapped in dozens of plastic bags and her hands were tied behind her back with an electric cable, and her mouth was covered with adhesive tape.

       Her murder has prompted top serial killing expert Lt-Col Evgeny Karchevsky - nicknamed Russia's 'Maniac Hunter' – to come into solve the on-going mystery over disappearing children that has eluded local authorities in the city.

       Karchevsky rose to prominence after obtaining dozens of confessions from ex-policeman Mikhail Popkov, 57 - Russia’s worst serial killer, who murdered 81 women, raping most of his victims.

       Police believe the suspected paedophile killer is believed to be in his 50s and to imprison and sexually abuse his victims for several days before taking their lives.

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       According to tumen.kp, Karchevsky said: "We are talking about an intellectual criminal, well-prepared, who previously committed such crimes.

       “This is a man, but considering the speed with which the girls get into the car, I do not exclude that a woman is helping him.”

       "SERIAL KILLING SEX ATTACKER"

       So far, at least nine cases in Tyumen are suspected to be linked to the killer, with the majority known to have had medically registered eye problems.

       Only three bodies of the children have been found - all with similar conditions.

       From 1997 to 1999 three girls went missing: Lyubov Simonova, 16, Irina Kasyanova, 13, and Alyona Imamova, 12 – but were never found.

       In 2001 Sofya Telesheva, 11, was murdered, followed swiftly by Anna Bukrina, 13 and half sister of Lyubov Simonova, who had not eaten for four days before being killed, according to forensic evidence.

       Both were held for a period before being strangled, say investigators.

       The body of Sofya was found on the lake shore where Nastya was discovered two decades later.

       Between 2008 and 2010 three children went missing - boy Eduard Alimbayev, eight, and girls Anastasia Lozhkina, 12, and Anna Anisimova, 11.

       Their bodies have never been found.

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       Police are now on the lookout for a killer after Nastya's body parts was discovered in a plastic bag Credit: East2West 5

       Locals paid floral tribute to the latest victim Credit: Getty

       According to Kiryukhin, the majority of the victims had squints or other eye problems.

       He said: “It is very likely that the maniac chooses children on this basis, but what drives him is not clear."

       One theory is that the gaps in children vanishing and being killed may be when the perpetrator was in jail.

       Revealing further details from the profile of the previous killings, Kuryukhin added that the previous suspect is believed to have worked in the transport industry and allegedly had a country house where he held the abducted children.

       "If this is the same maniac, then he is now in his 50s, and even if married, he has a separate house he does not let anyone enter,” he said.

       “This is where he kept the previous girls and the child who disappeared this summer, Nastya.”

       He also believes the warped killer “responded” to Nastya’s grandmother’s plea to have her body returned before it was found in the lake.

       HORROR FIND

       The search for the nine-year-old was spearheaded by her sister Tatyana, 18, who inspired hundreds of volunteers to help with the hunt, as well as producing leaflets and making audio appeals for assistance.

       The little girl's dad, Sergey Muravyov, 40, initially came under suspicion in the high-profile case due to a previous murder conviction.

       But the single-parent porter passed a lie detector test and is no longer a suspect.

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       Nastya's sister Tatyana, 18, prompted the investigation and hopes that the killer can be caught Credit: East2West

       Russia’s top criminal investigator Alexander Bastrykin has taken personal charge of the case.

       One searcher said: "It is absolutely certain that the corpse had not been there all the time since the girl's disappearance.

       "We had recently combed the area again, every bush, and at that time the remains were not there."

       At the time, the Russian Investigative Committee said: "A child's body was found in Tyumen, believed to be the missing girl.

       "Investigators and criminologists are working at the scene."