A 5-year-old girl was found dead in a public pond early Thursday morning after going missing the night before.
The girl, who had limited language skills, had last been seen at her Babcock Road home in south Providence around 11:15 p.m. Wednesday, according to police.
State and local police officers searched for the girl through the night, using K-9 teams and drones.
Just before 5 a.m. Thursday, police discovered the girl unresponsive in the swan boat pond at Roger Williams Park, not far from the family home.
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She was rushed to Hasbro Children’s Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Family members who spoke to NBC10 Boston affiliate WJAR identified her as Naomi Thomas and said losing a child so young is more than they can handle.
"Just keep the family in prayers. That’s all we need right now," Fatu Dorley Cooper, the girl's aunt, told WJAR.
Cooper said she’s at a loss for words after her loving niece somehow got out of her parents' home and was found dead the next morning. She told WJAR that it's been a hard year for her family already and this is just too much.
"Losing my mom I thought was tough, then losing my brother, I tried to block that out, then my cousin’s son passed away, but now my baby niece. It’s just too much for the family, but God will see us through," Cooper said.
Neighbors Roberto Pietersz joined police in their search for the girl and were devastated to see how it ended.
"I drove through that area, all the way through the park, Park Avenue, Adams Avenue, anything, anywhere we could think that a kid could run," said Pietersz, who went home around 3 a.m. and then woke up to the heartbreaking news on Thursday.
The Department of Children, Youth and Families said it has been notified of the situation and that they had no prior history with the family.
The incident remains under investigation.
