Pair of shoes by pond leads investigators to bodies of 3 missing Texas girls, cops say
.jpg "Three girls reported missing in Atlanta, Texas, were found dead in a pond near their home, authorities say.")
A trio of missing Texas girls was found dead in a private pond early in the morning on Saturday, July 30, investigators told news outlets.
The girls, 9-year-old Zi’ariel Oliver, 8-year-old Amanda Hughes, and 5-year-old Temari Oliver, were reported missing from their home in the small town of Atlanta around 10 p.m. on Friday, TV station KSLA reported.
Atlanta, population around 5,400, is about 200 miles east of Fort Worth.
The three sisters were being watched by a family friend while their mother was at work, officials told the Texarkana Gazette.
Crews consisting of Texas Parks and Wildlife officials and Cass County first responders scoured the area around their home and came across a pair of children’s shoes sitting by the edge of a pond on a neighboring property, the outlet reported.
Dive teams went into the water and found the bodies of all three girls, KTAL reported. The bodies were recovered shortly after midnight.
Officials have not announced a cause of death, but autopsies are being conducted, the station reported. Texas Rangers are leading the investigation, along with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
This story was originally published July 31, 2022 at 10:47 AM with the headline "Pair of shoes by pond leads investigators to bodies of 3 missing Texas girls, cops say."