Jenny Din, 9, Found Dead in Florence Pond After Wandering Away Barefoot in a Mint Jacket and Pink Headphones

A nine-year-old autistic girl who wandered away from her home in Florence, Kentucky, without shoes, has been found dead in a pond not far from where she was last seen. After a search lasting more than 25 hours, Jenny Din's body was recovered by the Hamilton County Water Search and Rescue team on Saturday evening, ending one of the largest community-led searches Northern Kentucky had seen in recent years.

Din was last seen at approximately 5 pm on Friday, 13 March, walking along MacIntosh Lane in Florence. She was wearing a mint-blue jacket, pink headphones, and no shoes. Her family told authorities they believed she would seek out somewhere warm and enclosed, prompting investigators to urge the public to check vehicles, sheds, decks, and any small covered spaces in the area.

A Community Mobilised

More than 20 different agencies worked together to locate Din, with search teams from Campbell County and Hamilton County assisting Boone County crews. Hundreds of volunteers joined the effort, covering two square miles on the ground, approximately seven to eight miles by air through drones and a Kentucky State Police helicopter, and seven additional miles using law enforcement K-9s.

Lt Anthony Theetge of the Boone County Sheriff's Office made direct appeals to the public throughout the search. 'We are going to be relying on the people who not only know the community but they know their own lay of the land... Check your sheds, check under your decks... we are asking you to look anywhere and everywhere that a young child may have looked to get some kind of shelter and safety,' Theetge said. The search was briefly suspended in the early hours of Saturday morning before resuming that afternoon with renewed volunteer numbers.

The sheriff's office said on Saturday afternoon that Din's case would be transferred to its Criminal Investigations Division. Her body was recovered from the pond approximately two hours after that announcement. Dive teams had searched the same pond on Friday, but Lt Theetge noted that scanning water for a body is an imperfect process. 'It's very dark. There is practically no sight, depending on how deep the water is. And a lot of times, they are just guiding themselves by feel,' he told reporters.

The IAN Alert and Its Tragic Origins

Kentucky State Police issued an IAN alert for Din on Friday. The alert system is specifically for missing children under the age of 18 with autism or mental illness who are in potential danger. The alert is named after Ian Sousis, another nine-year-old autistic boy whose death shaped state law. Sousis had wandered away from a children's home in Covington in June 2022 and was later found dead in the Ohio River. His grandmother, Rhonda O'Brien, campaigned for a dedicated alert system, leading to the passage of House Bill 682, signed into law by Governor Andy Beshear in July 2025.

Despite the system's existence, Din's case drew painful parallels to the boy whose name the alert bears. Kentucky's first IAN alert was issued for five-year-old Silas Chearer in July 2025, who was later found dead after wandering from his home in Hart County. Jenny Din is the second child to have died after an IAN alert was issued in the state.

A Wider Crisis for Autistic Children

Din's death sits within a broader pattern. According to the National Autism Association, nearly 49 per cent of children with autism attempt to wander or bolt from a safe environment, a rate significantly higher than that of their neurotypical peers. Drowning remains a leading cause of death for autistic children who elope. Experts note that children with autism may not respond to their name being called or may seek enclosed spaces to avoid sensory stimulation, making search operations significantly harder.

Kentucky State Police confirmed Din's death, stating: 'Tragically, this is not the outcome we had hoped for.' The Boone County Sheriff's Office said the county would be providing support to the family. No further details on the circumstances of her death had been released at the time of publication. Her case has already prompted renewed discussion about water safety barriers, community awareness training, and the limits of emergency alert systems when time and terrain work against searchers.