3-year-old who vanished is found dead hours later at bottom of family pool, SC cops say
A 3-year-old was found dead hours after going missing in South Carolina, officials said.
After a search that went into the night, the child’s body was found at the bottom of a family pool at about 9:45 p.m. March 1, according to the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office.
“Rest assured the pool was one of the first places which was checked by divers as was a pond which is home to a couple of alligators,” officials said in a news release. “It was very difficult for the divers to maneuver or see in the pool.... The pool was extremely overgrown, filled with black water, and thick, wiry algae.”
The pool was drained before the child was found unresponsive and pronounced dead, according to documents that Dorchester County officials shared with McClatchy News. The 3-year-old was identified as Adalyn Blackburn of Summerville.
Earlier in the day, someone called 911 earlier to tell deputies that the child had disappeared. Adalyn reportedly was last seen 15 to 20 minutes before the call, officials said in a release.
The sheriff’s office said it responded to the report at about 4:45 p.m. along Kette Creek Road, near U.S. Highway 78 and roughly 30 miles northwest of Charleston. Local, state and federal agencies joined the search.
The child later was found dead in the deep end of the swimming pool, officials said. An autopsy has been scheduled, and an investigation was ongoing as of March 2.
This story was originally published March 2, 2022 at 10:55 AM with the headline "3-year-old who vanished is found dead hours later at bottom of family pool, SC cops say."
