JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (WSVN) — New body camera footage captured a search for survivors after a car drove into a retention pond that led to a 5-year-old girl’s death.
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office deputies were in a pursuit on the road after a woman kidnapped her 5-year-old child.
“Her speeds are over 100,” said one officer on the bodycam footage. “The suspect just threw a knife out the window.”
After about 30 miles into the chase, the deputy said she was going into the retention pond.
The search for the kidnapped girl soon became a rescue from the water.
“We need to get in there,” said the deputy.
All the deputies on the scene parked their cars on the edge of the pond and ran into the water.
Body camera footage showed them submerged in the dark water searching for survivors.
“Where’s the car? Where’s the car at?” said the deputy.
They pulled a woman out of the water as she told the officers that she clung onto a tire to stay afloat.
“Let’s get her in some handcuffs,” one officer said.
Authorities attempted to figure out where to look next for the girl still in the water.
According to police records, a dive team was requested immediately after the crash, but the crew was not in the water until more than an hour and a half later.
In the meantime, several officers searched the water for the missing child. They were not able to get to the car.
“He said you couldn’t even touch it with your feet. It’s got to be eight feet deep,” said one deputy officer on the bodycam video.
By the time the dive team found the child, it was too late, officials said. The girl’s body was found at the bottom of the pond.
“I so didn’t want to lose her,” said the deputy.
The mother remains in jail after a judge deemed her unfit to stand trial. Her next hearing is scheduled for March.
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