Drone Helps Find Body Of Missing 4-Year-Old In Florida Pond
A drone donated by a local resident located the body of a missing toddler in Florida this week. The body of 4-year-old Chelsea Noel was found Sunday in a pond, authorities said.
The unidentified resident allowed authorities to use his drone to aid in the search for the child, according to ABC News. The drone detected a discolored figure in a pond near her home in Port St. Lucie. A United States Marshal in a kayak was subsequently deployed and found a body confirmed to be Chelsea Noel, submerged in the pond.
Chelsea, who was non-verbal and had autism, walked out of her home in Port St. Lucie Saturday night, authorities said. Authorities believed she had become disoriented and ran into the retention pond, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
“I didn’t see [Chelsea] and looked at the door,” said her father, Remy Noel.
UPDATE search for missing 4 year old girl.Tonight a Marshal and member of search team were on pond located at SW Halmark Marshal spotted something and SLCSO Dive Team responded and located the lifeless body of the missing 4 year old girl, Chelsea Noel, from the retention pond. pic.twitter.com/V9nc2AOOAc
— Port St. Lucie PD (@PSLPolice) December 4, 2017
Noel then went outside and yelled for his daughter. Footage from the home’s surveillance video reportedly showed her leaving, he said.
The search for her, comprised of officials from the FBI, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and other agencies, lasted about 24 hours before she was found in the pond.
“It looks like the child, just as we have been reporting the beginning, got out of the house and went right to this lake,” Port St. Lucie Police Chief John Bolduc told reporters Monday.
The investigation into her death continued, though authorities said they did not believe someone was involved in her death.
“There’s no evidence to suggest foul play,” said police spokesman Sgt. Frank Sabol, according to the TC Palm.
Breaking: Chelsea Noel’s body has been found at the edge of a pond by a @stluciesheriff dive team. She was just 4 years old. She was found about 27 hours after going missing. RIP. @PSLPolice pic.twitter.com/dlSqNLfp5i
— Andrew Lofholm (@AndrewLofholm) December 4, 2017
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