Overview
- The child, known as Bella, was reported missing by her parents on Wednesday midday and was found dead in a pool on the family property on Thursday morning.
- A forensic autopsy completed by Friday identified drowning as the cause of death and found no immediate evidence of a violent crime.
- Police admit their earlier public statements conflicted with operational facts and say the pool was only given a superficial visual check at first, prompting internal reviews of search procedures and communications.
- Reporters and witnesses described the pool as reachable only via the house or neighboring yards and heavily overgrown and murky, a condition investigators say could explain how the body was missed during earlier searches.
- Authorities have opened a Todesermittlungsverfahren, which will preserve evidence and examine timing, access routes, water conditions and whether supervisory negligence played a role before any decision about criminal suspicion is made.