Burnett County (WQOW) - Investigators shared some new details as they continue to examine the circumstances surrounding the disappearance and death of Reena Williams.
The three-year-old disappeared on Tuesday night. Her body was found Wednesday in a canal just 25 yards from her home outside of Danbury. The home is surrounded by water on three sides.
The preliminary results from an autopsy call her death an accidental drowning.
Burnett County Sheriff Dean Roland says Reena was discovered wandering in Danbury about 12 blocks from home on Tuesday. A neighbor found her and brought her to her parent's house. Hours later, she disappeared and was never seen alive again. Investigators say the girl's father was the last one to see her. He said she was playing outside, and he yelled out a window for her to get away from the water. Sometime after that, he couldn't find her and asked a nearby fisherman if he had seen the girl.
When the angler suggested that police should be called, the father allegedly said, "We don't need any cops," and walked away. The fisherman then notified authorities, prompting the search.
Hundreds of volunteers joined in that search. On Thursday, WQOW News 18 learned the girl's parents did not take part. Instead, they were at the nearby casino, which had offered them a free room after the sheriff's department took over their home during the investigation.
There was also a delay on Wednesday in announcing the girl's death because the sheriff's department couldn't locate Reena's mother to notify her. Sheriff Roland says she was in Siren shopping for shoes and a cell phone. Roland says he thought that was "kind of bizarre, but says people grieve in different ways."
The sheriff says there's nothing to indicate foul play, but says part of the investigation will be to find out, in his words, "why was she walking around alone before she went missing?" On Thursday, the canal where Reena's body was found was drained to search for any evidence. The sheriff says nothing of significance was found.
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Burnett County (WQOW) - There's new information on the investigation into the disappearance and death of a little girl in northwestern Wisconsin.
Preliminary autopsy results indicate three-year-old Reena Williams accidentally drowned. Her body was found Wednesday in three feet of water in a canal, just 25 yards from her rural Danbury home.
Hundreds of volunteers searched for the toddler after she was reported missing while playing with her dog on Tuesday. The Burnett County sheriff told WQOW News 18 Thursday the dog was wet and at the water's edge just two feet from where her body was found.
The sheriff also says earlier on the same day she went missing and had been found wandering in Danbury, about 12 blocks away from her home. A neighbor took her back.
The canal where her body was found was drained to search for any evidence. The sheriff there's nothing to indicate foul play, but says part of the investigation will be to find out "who was watching her" and "why was she walking around alone before she went missing?"
