Police: Body Recovered Friday Afternoon May Be Father Of 3-Year-Old Found Alone In Boat

HOOD COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) — A body was recovered after a day's long search on Lake Granbury.

Friday morning, a 3-year-old girl was found alone in a boat. She told police her "daddy went swimming."

Hood County Sheriff's Office Lt. Johnny Rose said this may have been result of forgetting to throw an anchor out.

"Some people will forget to throw the anchor out, or just not know to do it," Rose said. "Jump out of the boat, and then with the wind and the current, [it] will push the boat away from them, and they'll never catch up to the boat. So, that may be this case."

Deputies responded to the 2700 block of Casa Del Sur Court after a witness called them about the child.

The girl's mother called her father's cell phone when the witness picked up. The search for her father began quickly after that.

The witness told CBS 11 News he noticed a boat floating untethered near the shore Friday morning, when a young girl popped up from inside asking where her  daddy was.

Wearing a swimsuit and floaties, he said the girl appeared to have been sleeping in the front of the boat.

The girl's family said her parents shared custody and this was her father's weekend to have her.

Investigators said her father, who's identity has not been released, launched his boat from the Granbury City Beach Boat Ramp on Business Hwy 377 around 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

And although the 3-year-old's aunts told CBS 11 reporter Andrea Lucia that she was dehydrated and hungry when she was discovered, deputies said she is now in good condition.

"I think it was just divine intervention this little girl survived, because the instinct of a 3-year-old may be to jump in the water with dad, but she didn't," Rose said. "We're glad she's OK and we're not working a fatality on her, and that she was discovered this morning and not later today out in this oppressive heat."

Anyone with information is asked to call the Hood County Sheriff's Office at 817-579-3307.

Police have not confirmed if the body found is the girl's father.