WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A 6-year-old girl has been found dead Tuesday evening in a retention pond after going missing from her South Florida home.
Aleenah Fenelus, who authorities say was autistic and non-verbal, was found about two hours after she was last seen in her West Palm Beach neighborhood, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post.
The search included helicopters, K9 officers and deputies knocking on neighbors' doors.
The child's body was eventually found in a body of water behind her home, officials said. She was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
"It was bath time," the child's mother told West Palm Beach's WPTV. "I went to get her PJs. By the time I put her PJs on the bed, she vanished. I looked all over the house. She wasn't there. So I checked the back and I noticed she pushed the door open and left the house."
The mother told the news station that Aleenah had never done that before. WPBF 25 News reported that nearby neighbors could hear the child's mother calling for her.
The investigation is ongoing, but officials didn’t immediately suspect foul play.
