A Maryland community mourns after a missing 10-year-old girl drowned in a quarry near her Charles County home, according to authorities.
Maddelynn Wallace, who had autism and was nonverbal, wandered away from her home in Brandywine Saturday afternoon.
An extensive search for her, included the woods and the quarry not far from her home.
“We utilized every search tool that we could to include people, drones, police K-9s, other law enforcement agencies,” said Diane Richardson of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office. “Pretty much everything that we could to try to find her.”
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There was an outpouring of support on social media with thousands of shares and comments.
“She had these big beautiful eyes, a big beautiful smile, and she had this innocence about her, and people were compelled to get involved,” Richardson said.
But Sunday morning Maddelynn’s body was found in a deep, water-filled quarry about a mile from her home.
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According to the Charles County Sheriff's Office, an autopsy found she died from drowning. No foul play is suspected in her death.
Maddelynn was a fun-loving child who loved to sing and dance and whose smile brightened everyone’s day.
“She was just the kid that you looked at and everybody smiled,” special educator Lindsey Tayman said, holding back tears. “Not a single person could walk past without saying, ‘Hey, Maddie. What are you doing?’ And she would dance and smile and wave back.”
Counseling was offered Monday for heartbroken students and staff at Gwynn Education Center, where Maddelynn was in the fourth grade.
“It’s empty, it’s quiet and it’s heavy,” Tayman said. “I think everyone’s feeling it, and everyone knows that it’ll never, ever feel the same here.”
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