GEORGE, Wash. — A 10-year-old girl from Western Washington died Monday night in a pond near George, Washington.
The Grant County Sheriff’s Office said they believe the girl drowned. In a press release, the sheriff’s office said the girl was vacationing in the area of 300 block of Silica Road Northwest from Issaquah. They said she slipped under the surface of the 3-acre pond while playing with other children.
Several calls were made to 911 around 8:30 p.m. as family and others searched the pond. Firefighters jumped into the pond with family and search the shoulders-deep water for over an hour without finding the girl, according to the sheriff’s office.
Suspecting the child may have been drawn into the pond’s siphon, which supplies water for a man-made waterfall, the sheriff’s office said firefighters used hand tools to disassemble a joint on the siphon pipe where they found the child’s body. Firefighters then carefully disassembled the pipe with power tools and recovered her body around 10:45 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office.
The Grant County Coroner will conduct an autopsy on the girl. The sheriff’s office said early indication is that this was an accident.
