Missing Florida toddler who wandered away from home found dead in lake

TAMPA, Fla. – A 2-year-old Florida girl who wandered away from home Friday afternoon was found dead in a nearby lake hours later, according to the Tampa Police Department.

The search for Lori Thermidor began around 3:40 p.m. when she left her home in the area of Redwood Point Drive and Stallion Fields Way wearing a pink polka dot pajama onesie.

Police said the girl’s father realized his daughter was missing within minutes and went out to search for her but couldn’t find her, so he called police. She was initially believed to have wandered into a wooded area.

Officers, dozens of volunteers and neighbors, two bloodhounds and air service searched for hours but it was divers who found the girl dead in a nearby lake before 8:30 p.m. Friday.

No further details were immediately available.