WEST CHESTER, Ohio — The Butler County Coroner's Office has determined that a 7-year-old autistic girl who went missing Friday morning drowned.
The girl was reported missing Friday morning, and was found in a retention pond in West Chester not long after, West Chester officials said Friday.
On Monday, the coroner's office identified the girl as Mardasia Forte and ruled her manner of death an accident.
A press release from West Chester says the girl was reported missing around 11:30 a.m. Friday morning. While officers were on their way to begin an investigation, they were informed the girl was found "in a nearby retention pond" on Lakeside Drive.
Police arrived minutes later and began life-saving efforts, but the girl was pronounced dead at the scene.
"This is an incredible tragedy for our community so soon after we lost a child in similar circumstances," said Lisa Brown, West Chester Township administrator, in a press release.
In November, a non-verbal 6-year-old autistic boy also went missing in West Chester; the body of Joshua Al-Lateef Jr. was found the following evening in a retention pond in the property on Wyndtree Drive.
Joshua's mom is fighting to change laws in Ohio to require an automated missing endangered child alert. Read more about that effort here.
