HOME / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Three-year-old girl with autism found dead in neighbor's pool after slipping out of home: 'Just like that she's gone'

Aria Kalinich was found floating in a neighbor's backyard pool 30 minutes after a search for her was launched, and was later pronounced dead at Southwest General Health Center.

STRONGSVILLE, OHIO: A three-year-old girl from Ohio who allegedly slipped away from home was later found dead in a neighbor's pool on Thursday.

According to WKYC, dispatch received a call about a child running around unattended in Strongsville, Ohio, around 1 pm, People reports.

Authorities eventually found the girl after 30 minutes of searching. Aria Kalinich was found floating in a neighbor's backyard pool, and was later pronounced dead at Southwest General Health Center, Fox 8 reports.

Police believe the little girl slipped away from home while her mother had gone to a nearby McDonald's to make a phone call. Furthermore, an older sibling told officers his sister may have climbed out of a window like she often did.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office is yet to respond to a request for comment.

Devastated mother Jessica Baksi told WKYC that Aria was non-communicative and had a history of running away from home.

“Kids will run away, they will try to sneak off and put themselves in dangerous situations and for the memory of my daughter I do want to make awareness of that,” she said.

“We put bars, we put locks, we put safety measures which is very important but as you know some kids with autism have very high IQs and they know how to figure out things when they have time, so she figured it out and she left,” Baksi added.

Even neighbors said they have seen the child climb fences and wander around the neighborhood on her own before.

"She'd be way back there, and so that's not the first time I've seen the little girl," said neighbor Sheryl Clark.

Wandering or 'elopement', per the CDC, can affect children with autism as they “have challenges understanding safety issues and communicating with others.”

Bakshi told Fox 8 she had recently visited a doctor to seek advice on how to keep her daughter from running away.

“We are heartbroken and we are still in shock,” she said. “I was trying to do everything I could to prevent this from happening again and now just like that she’s gone."

Strongsville police are still investigating the tragic case.