4-Year-Old Girl Found Dead in Pond Where She Liked to Feed Fish: 'Our Worst Fears Came True'

Emerie Schandorf-Woode.Photo: Hamilton Township Police Department

A 4-year-girl who disappeared from her Ohio home has tragically been found dead, according to authorities.

Emerie Schandorf-Woode’s body was located in a pond on Sunday evening around 8 p.m., the Hamilton Township Police Departmentconfirmed in a Facebook post.

Police Chief Scott Hughes said during a press conference on Monday that Emerie enjoyed going to that pond to feed the fish, Fox affiliateWXIXreported.

“Our worst fears came true,” Hughes said through tears, per the outlet. “This sucks. This just sucks. She was 4 years old.”

“I’ve been in this job for a long time and this is, without a doubt, the most tragic press conference I’ve ever done,“Hughes addedin a press briefing shared on their Facebook page.

Emerie was first reported missing on Sunday in the Turning Leaf subdivision of Hamilton Township,according to police.

Chief Hughes said during an early press conference that Ring camera footage captured Emerie walking down her Warren County driveway barefoot around noon, WXIX reported.

Police immediately launched a search for the little girl, using K9s, drones, foot searches, and boats, according to their post. Around 6 p.m.,they started going yard to yardin the Turning Leaf, Michels Farm and Cochran Road areas in hopes of finding Emerie.

Members of the FBI, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), Warren County Sheriff’s Office, Warren County Dive Rescue & Recovery Team, Ohio State Highway Patrol, and Mason Police Department also responded to help with search efforts, WXIX reported.

Hughes reportedly said they did not put out an Amber Alert because they had no indication that Emerie was abducted, according to the local outlet.

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It wasn’t until 9 p.m. that policeconfirmed they had located Emerie’s bodyin the pond. The local coroner later determined that her cause of death was due to drowning, according to WXIX.

“Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers as they deal with this heartbreaking tragedy,” the police department’s post read. “Thank you to everyone in our community who came out and assisted in the search.”

“Emerie left behind a family who will never know the same life again,” reads the description on the page, which has raised over $11,900 so far.

“Every death is a tragedy and when a death involves a child it amplifies that tragedy,” Chief Hughes said during the press conference on Monday.

Added Hamilton Township Fire-Rescue Chief Brian Reese: “The loss of Emerie will be felt for a long time.”

In a statement Sunday night, the Little Miami School Districtexpressed their condolences over Emerie’s passingand said she was enrolled as a student.

“It is with the deepest sadness that we share the tragic news of the death of one of our young Panthers, Emrie Schandorf-Woode,” their tweet reads. “Our thoughts & heartfelt condolences are with the Shandorf-Woode family & friends during this time. Panther Nation let us come together & lift them up.”

The school district also issued a statement to WXIX, where they noted that Emerie “would have entered preschool in just a few short weeks.”

“Every young death is tragic, but it is so profoundly heartbreaking to lose a precious child this young,” the statement reads, in part.

Those interested in donating to Emerie’s GoFundMe page can do sohere.

source: people.com