Police confirmed there had been a ransom demand and sources suggested the amount was about €1m (£710,000).

A teenager snatched off the street as she walked her dog last week in Meissen, Germany, has been found dead in an abandoned farmyard near her home. Kidnappers have demanded a ransom reported to be around €1m for the daughter of a wealthy German businessman after she disappeared while walking her dog. She had her bicycle and dog with her.

Her desperate parents pleaded with the abductors not to harm their daughter, and said they would pay any amount of money requested.

“The kidnappers should know that we will fulfill the indicated demands to be able to hug our child soon”.

The case made headlines across the country after local media reported the sum that had had been demanded for her return.

Her bicycle was later found in a ditch and the dog turned up alive on Monday afternoon in a field. Officials have not released the teen’s surname out of concerns for privacy.

“We are working on the assumption it is Anneli”, said police spokesman Thomas Knaup.

“In the background screams were heard, presumably the last signs of life from the girl, then the conversation broke off”, Police Chief Kroll told.

The arrested men have not been named, but Bild newspaper identified them as Markus B, a 39-year-old unemployed chef, and Norbert K, a 61-year-old metal dealer.

In 2010 kidnappers murdered Maria Bogerl, a wealthy banker’s wife, even though a ransom of €300,000 was paid.

Two men were arrested in dawn raids – one in Dresden and the other in a town in Bavaria.