The search for a little girl who went missing from her home in Cootharaba, Queensland has ended in tragedy after a body was found in a nearby dam.
An urgent search for three-year-old Elenore, also known as Ellie, was launched by Queensland Police yesterday afternoon (Monday, August 19) after she vanished at around 3:30pm from her home in Cootharaba on the Sunshine Coast, near Noosa.
The search ended in tragedy last night when police divers found a body in a dam around 150 metres from her house.
‘The 3-year-old girl reported missing in Cootharaba yesterday afternoon has been located deceased. Around midnight police divers located the child in a dam approximately 150m from the house,’ said Queensland Police in a statement.
Before the discovery was made, Ellie’s aunt, Penny Lindsay, told the ABC she had been watching TV before her mother realised she was missing.
‘We just want her found,’ she said.
Another relative said it was uncharacteristic for Ellie to go missing like this.
Local community members, SES and the Rural Fire Brigade all assisted with the search. Police are now preparing a report for the coronor.