Deputies: Missing girl found dead in pond behind home

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A six-year-old girl has been found dead in a retention pond after going missing from a South Florida home, authorities said.

Deputies responded to reports of a missing autistic girl in the West Palm Beach neighborhood Tuesday evening, a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office news release said. The search included helicopters, K9 officers and deputies knocking on neighbors’ doors.

The girl’s lifeless body was eventually found in a body of water behind the residence, officials said. The child was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Deputies didn’t immediately say how the girl ended up in the pond.

The investigation is ongoing, but officials didn’t immediately suspect foul play.