NBCPhiladelphia.com

A 2-year-old girl was found dead in a septic tank on Monday night. Police say she fell in after walking away from her home.

Following an intense, three-hour search, searchers found a 2-year-old girl dead in a septic tank near her home close to the Jersey Shore in New Jersey, police reported. They said she had walked away from her home and fell inside the septic system.

Police said they were contacted by the child's mother after she couldn't find her daughter. When police arrived, they found a 3-foot-wide hole in the ground above the septic tank. They called the public works department to pump out the water from the tank; two hours later, the water level dropped and they found the child's body.

Investigators believe the girl had been playing in the yard with her four siblings before wandering off.

The search included Lakewood police and Ocean County sheriff’s deputies. The New Jersey State Police dispatched a helicopter, the Star-Ledger reported.  

Details are still emerging and the girl’s name has not been released.

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