MOUNT VERNON — A 6-year-old Knox County girl was pronounced dead after drowning in a neighbor’s pond Wednesday night.
Avery Kaufman was reported missing around 7:40 p.m. on Danville-Amity Road, where she was playing with dogs near her neighbor’s pond, Knox County Sheriff David Shaffer said.
The Eastern Knox County Joint Fire District, along with several local law enforcement agencies, arrived at the scene to locate the missing girl.
Dive teams from the EKCJFD and Fredericktown EMS found Kaufman around 8:18 p.m.
EMS performed CPR on Kaufman, who was later transported to Knox Community Hospital, where she was pronounced deceased, Shaffer said. The time of her passing is currently unclear.
Kaufman was an elementary student at East Knox Local Schools. After learning about the drowning late Wednesday evening, the school district issued a two-hour delay for the start of its elementary school on Thursday.
“We made the two-hour delay decision last night to give ourselves an opportunity to get the staff in here this morning and allow them to process their feelings, meet with crisis counselors and put our plan together to start school after the two-hour delay,” East Knox Superintendent Steve Larcomb said.
“Our thoughts and prayers are certainly with the family in this tragic time,” Larcomb said. “We’re so sorry for the loss that they’re experiencing, and we’ll certainly keep them in our prayers.”
