After a massive four-day search, nine-year-old Sunset Elementary School student Mikaela Lynch was found dead in Cache Creek near her family's Lake County vacation home. The search for Mikaela, who was autistic included volunteers from her school on 41st Avenue in San Francisco, a rescue helicopter and a police dive team.
According to authorities, Mikaela had the had the mental capacity of an infant and an affinity for water. She could not speak, but was a student at Sunset Elementary School where she was enrolled in the San Francisco Unified School District's special program for children with autism.
Mikaela was last seen in her family's backyard in Clearlake on Sunday after. A neighbor's home security camera caught video of the girl running naked up the street. The family was also seen searching for her later. The local authorities set up a commander center at a nearby church to organize a massive search that involved everyone from police dogs to teachers from her school who came up from the city to help out:
Yesterday around noon, police divers found Mikaela dead in the muddy Cache Creek, a river that feeds into Clear Lake.
A spokeswoman for the school told the Examiner "in the coming days the school will find ways for the community to honor Mikaela.” The school's president also pledged to "support the family however we can."
