Police said Skylar Hopson was found in a retention pond hours after leaving home with her iPad.
PEARLAND, Texas — A 7-year-old girl with autism who left her Pearland home carrying an iPad was found dead Wednesday afternoon in a nearby retention pond after a search that drew local officers, K9 teams, drones and Houston police divers.
Skylar Hopson’s disappearance set off a fast-moving response in the Shadow Creek Ranch area and ended in tragedy less than six hours later. Pearland police said the child, who was nonverbal, was reported missing Wednesday morning after she was believed to have walked away from the home on Sunset Springs Drive. Officers said there was no sign of an abduction, but an Amber Alert was issued as authorities searched for her and asked neighbors for camera footage and any information that could help map her route.
Police spokesperson Chad Rogers said Skylar’s mother reported her missing at about 9:40 a.m. Investigators said the girl was believed to have left on foot wearing a tie-dye dress and carrying her iPad. Rogers said it was still unclear exactly how she got out of the house, and he told reporters investigators were still working to determine who was home at the time. A neighbor’s surveillance video later showed Skylar walking on a neighborhood sidewalk with the device, giving officers one of the clearest pieces of the timeline as they spread through the subdivision and nearby open areas.
As the search widened, Pearland police brought in K9 units, drones, ground crews and help from other agencies, including Houston police. By midday, police said teams were still combing the area. Rogers said search dogs tracked Skylar’s scent toward a retention pond near the neighborhood. At the same time, investigators were able to ping the iPad in the same general area. That overlap pushed crews to focus heavily on the water. With help from the Houston Police Department dive team, authorities recovered Skylar’s body from the pond at about 2:45 p.m. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Officials did not immediately release a cause of death, and the medical examiner’s findings were still pending.
Police said several key questions remained open late Wednesday. Investigators had not said whether Skylar was headed toward the pond or whether she had another destination in mind. “We’re not sure if that was her intended destination,” Rogers said at a press briefing, adding that officers were reviewing more cameras in hopes of tracing her exact route. The department also had not publicly described any barriers, alarms or other safety measures at the home, and Rogers said the investigation was continuing into how the child managed to leave without being stopped. Officers said there was no evidence pointing to an abduction.
The case also renewed attention to a danger first responders say they often confront when autistic children go missing: water. Rogers said officers moved quickly to ponds and similar spots because those areas can become urgent search points in cases involving children with autism, especially children who are nonverbal. He said drone teams and other searchers were directed early toward nearby water. The neighborhood response grew quickly as residents checked cameras, shared information online and looked for signs of where Skylar had gone. Pearland police later thanked residents, TEXSAR and other assisting teams for helping with the search.
By Wednesday night, the investigation had shifted from a rescue effort to a death inquiry centered on the hours between Skylar’s disappearance and the pond recovery. Police said they were still collecting surveillance video, reviewing the child’s movements and waiting for additional findings from the medical examiner. The next major step is a fuller accounting from investigators about how she left home and what the remaining video evidence shows.
Author note: Last updated March 12, 2026.