Searchers find body of missing Mountain Grove, Mo. child in nearby pond

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says searchers found the body of a young girl in a pond not far from where she was reported missing in Mountain Grove. Her body was located just after 7 a.m. Wednesday.

Vivian Fitzenrider, 3, disappeared about 6 p.m. Tuesday near 13th and Oakview Lane. She had walked away from her home. Nearly 300 volunteers showed up to help with the search Tuesday night. The volunteers went home shortly after midnight on Wednesday.

Investigators say she was found about five yards from the edge of the pond in water about three-feet deep. There were slide marks on the bank, but it's unclear if those were from little Vivian or from the many volunteers in the massive search. Her home is about 200 yards from the pond. A parent thought she had gone inside the home around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. They then realized she was missing. She is one of six children in the family.

"There will be an autopsy performed and also a child fatality review board will look at that," said Sgt. Jeff Kinder of the Missouri Highway Patrol. "We are involved in the investigation now, the Mountain Grove Police Department as well as the Wright County Sheriff's Office. This is a continuing investigation."

An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the child’s death is being conducted by investigators of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control, the Mountain Grove Police Department, and the Wright County Sheriff’s Department. The investigators do not suspect any foul play.