A “shy and timid” little girl who police believe may have been murdered after being found in a pond near her home has been identified locally.
Two-year-old Annabel Mackey was reported missing from her home in the small village of Kingsley, Hampshire, shortly after fivepm on Sunday, before she was found ten minutes later in a fishing pond.
Police initially said he was in a serious condition, but on Monday night said he had died and that a woman in her 40s had been arrested on suspicion of murder. Officers said the woman was initially arrested on suspicion of attempted murder before Annabel died.
Police continued to question the woman about the death on Tuesday while forensic examiners examined nearby woods.
Witnesses said they heard an adult shout “help me, help me” at the pond and then saw a victim being carried to an ambulance covered in blankets.
On Tuesday, local residents paid tribute to the “beautiful” and “beautiful” girl, who lived in a terraced house with her parents Peter, 39, and Alice, 40, where two police officers stood guard.
Forensic teams searched the half-million pound home they bought in March 2020, which is a short distance from Mrs Mackey’s parents.
A friend who lives near the family home said: “We are really upset. Annabel was very, very quiet.
“Every time we saw her in town, she didn’t really talk, she smiled at us. She was a sweet girl. She was very, very quiet and shy. Shy, I would say.”
