Body of missing 9-year-old girl found in Northern Kentucky pond
A missing 9-year-old girl was found dead in a pond in Boone County Saturday night, after an extensive search that began a day earlier.
The Hamilton County Underwater Search and Recovery Unit found the body of Jenny Dim in a pond near her home at about 7:30 p.m., the Boone County Sheriff’s Office said in an update.
Kentucky State Police had issued an Ian Alert for Jenny Friday night, saying she was last seen at about 5 p.m. on MacIntosh Lane in Florence.
“Tragically, this is not the outcome we had hoped for. We thank all the first responders, the public, and the media for all their effort during this investigation,” state police said in an updated news release Saturday night.
The Boone County Sheriff’s Office, which listed the child’s surname as Din, said she was last seen walking on Macintosh toward Afton Drive.
In an update at 7 p.m. Saturday, the sheriff’s office said “the Incident Command Center has discontinued the large scale mutual aid search and rescue operations.”
“After a continuous 25-hour effort by numerous agencies and volunteers, the incident is being transferred to the Criminal Investigations Division of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office effective immediately,” the agency said in a Facebook post.
“With the transfer to the Criminal Investigations Division, if you have any additional information that may assist the investigation, please continue to contact the Boone County Non-Emergency line at (859) 371-1234.”
Search and rescue teams and volunteers were still searching Saturday afternoon, and at least 20 agencies, including the FBI, state police, emergency management from several counties, multiple fire departments and others, became involved, according to the sheriff’s office.
Citizens were asked to review home security camera footage, double-check their property and be on the lookout for the little girl.
“The community’s response has been nothing short of extraordinary,” the sheriff’s office said in a 5:30 p.m. update.
As of 3:30 p.m. Saturday, searchers had covered about 4 square miles, “including several bodies of water which have been searched by Boone County Water Rescue and Hamilton County Search and Rescue,” the Boone County Sheriff’s Office said in an update shared to Facebook. “Additional law enforcement officials from surrounding counties are also reporting to the command center to help lead search efforts.”
Search and rescue crews from Hamilton County and Campbell County were expected to join teams from Boone County on Saturday, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office said Saturday morning that they had covered “approximately 7 or 8 miles by air through drones and Kentucky State Police’s helicopter, as well as 7 additional ground miles tracked by law enforcement K-9s.”
Kentucky State Police spokeswoman Sherry Bray said the family told searchers the child “kind of likes to get into small spaces or enclosed areas,” so community members were asked to help by looking in such places on their property.
Sgt. Anthony Theetge of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office asked people in the area to check inside cars, truck beds, sheds, under decks and beneath porches.
“We are asking you to look anywhere and everywhere that a young child may have looked to get some kind of shelter and safety,” Theetge told Cincinnati television station WLWT on Saturday.
Jenny was described as Asian; 4 feet, 4 inches tall; and weighing 53 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes, and her ears are pierced. She was last seen wearing a mint-blue jacket and pink headphones, but she did not have shoes on, according to a KSP news release.
The sheriff’s office said she was non-verbal.
Ian Alerts are issued when a child who has autism or a mental disability goes missing or is endangered, according to state police.
This story was originally published March 14, 2026 at 3:05 PM.
