Missing girl in Pearland
PEARLAND, Texas - Skyler Hopson, the missing 7-year-old Pearland girl at the center of an Amber Alert, was found dead in a retention pond on Wednesday afternoon, police say.
Missing girl prompts Amber Alert
The backstory:
An Amber Alert was issued Wednesday for Skyler. Police said there was no indication that she was abducted, but the alert was issued because she is non-verbal and autistic.
Police say she was believed to have walked away from her home with her iPad.
She had last been seen in the 2000 block of Sunset Springs Drive – on the far west side of the Shadow Creek Ranch neighborhood – around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Police searched the area and asked residents to check their cameras for footage that could help them find her.
K9s, search teams and a Houston police helicopter helped in the search for the girl.
Pearland police say K9s were able to track the girl's scent to a nearby retention pond, where a Houston dive team recovered her body around 2:45 p.m.
"Devastated"
What they're saying:
"Pearland Police Department is devastated by the results of this search and our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this time. Thank you to all local resources, including TEXSAR and their K-9, who tracked the scent to the pond, as well as Pearland residents who assisted in search and surveillance efforts and to the community for their support," the Pearland Police Department wrote.
The Source: The information in this article comes from the Pearland Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety.