Overview
- Search teams discovered the girl's body in the family’s backyard pool at about 9:30 a.m. Thursday after a multi-hour missing-person search that involved police, fire crews, drones and a helicopter.
- Officials said a Friday autopsy ruled drowning the cause of death and found no indications of an external violent crime.
- Police and firefighters say they checked the pool multiple times during the search, and investigators have opened a Todesermittlungsverfahren to review the timing and completeness of those checks.
- Authorities currently state they exclude third-party involvement, but they are examining how the child — described in reporting as autistic with vision and hearing impairments — came to be in a pool that is not visible from the street.
- Local residents took part in the search and the case has renewed attention on missing-child risks and search procedures in Germany as investigators and prosecutors work to establish a clear timeline.