Toddler Found Dead After Two-Day Search on Goiás Farm

Overview

• The girl, Maria Fernanda Cândido da Rocha, was last seen on Monday morning, June 15, at the family’s Fazenda Vale do Paraíso and was reported missing about 9:20 a.m.
• More than 100 volunteers joined police, firefighters, Graer helicopter teams and search specialists using drones, dogs and divers during an intensive two-day operation.
• Search teams found a diaper and a piece of the child’s clothing in a river and, on Wednesday, June 17, dogs led rescuers to her body at the margins of the Rio Paraíso roughly two kilometers from the home.
• Authorities say the body showed no visible signs of external violence, the medical examiner noted severe dehydration and possible hypothermia, and IML toxicology and autopsy tests are pending to confirm the cause of death; investigators are treating the leading theory that the child left the house alone based on footprints and family video evidence.
• Police continue interviews and scene analysis and may pursue charges related to momentary abandonment; the case is likely to prompt local scrutiny of child safety on remote farms while the formal forensic results are awaited.