Child rescued after being tossed into lake

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Investigators called off the search for a body in a lake north of Springfield on Wednesday after determining that a 5-year-old girl who was rescued after being thrown in was the only victim.

The girl, whose name was not immediately released, told investigators that her assailant had told her before throwing her in that her mother was dead and in the water. But sheriff's department investigators found the mother and reunited her with the girl, who was in a Springfield hospital.

Investigators are looking for a suspect described as a white male about 5-foot-10, who they believe took the girl sometime overnight while she was being watched by a baby sitter and threw her in McDaniel Lake.

"She (the girl) told the investigator that the suspect said he'd killed the mother and put her in the lake," Barber said.

In fact, Barber said, the mother had returned home early Wednesday and with a baby sitter discovered the girl had disappeared. The mother then called 911.

Sheriff's deputies were called to the lake about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday when three fishermen heard a splash like a body going in the water. The fishermen went up on a bridge across the lake and, using flashlights, spotted the girl in the water. Two of the men dove in and rescued her. They told investigators the suspect was on the bridge and drove off when they jumped in after the girl.

Barber said the suspect's vehicle has been found but declined to provide any details, including where it was found or the identity of the suspect.

Barber did say investigators do not believe the suspect is the child's father but also do not believe "that this was a random act." He declined to be more specific, citing the ongoing investigation.

McDaniel Lake is about 40 feet deep around the bridge, an older cement span that takes Farm Road 76 across the lake at its midpoint. Safety railings on either side of the bridge are about chest-height and about 15 feet above the water.

The lake, created by a dam in 1929, is the smaller of two reservoirs for Springfield's water system.