7-year-old wandered off for 10 minutes, cops say. She dies after being found in river

A 7-year-old girl went missing from her home and died after she was found in a river, Maryland officials said.

Allegany County deputies got a call that the child with autism had been missing from her home for 10 minutes, according to a Facebook post by the sheriff’s office.

Deputies searched for the girl along with Maryland State Police, Mountain Maryland Search and Rescue, Allegany County Department of Emergency Services, Tri-towns EMS, Potomac Fire Company, Bloomington Fire Department, Bowling Green Fire Department, Cresaptown Fire Department and EMS, Allegany County Special Ops, Keyser EMS, and the Keyser Fire Department, officials said.

Cumberland City Police’s K9 unit was tracking along the Potomac River when they saw the girl in the water, deputies said.

Officers brought her to the riverbed so they could perform CPR, the post said.

The area was remote, with steep terrain, and some responders suffered bee stings and injuries and were taken to a local hospital, deputies said.

Although medical personnel performed life-saving measures for an extended time, the girl was pronounced dead, officials said.

Allegany County is about a 130-mile drive northwest of Baltimore.

This story was originally published September 4, 2024 at 2:29 PM with the headline "7-year-old wandered off for 10 minutes, cops say. She dies after being found in river."