7-year-old missing, found dead in lake: TN police

Investigators say 7-year-old Serenity Kinsey was reported missing from her Tennessee home hours before her body was discovered by divers.

Photo taken by Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

Tennessee authorities said the search for a missing 7-year-old girl ended tragically on July 4.

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Serenity Kinsey’s body was found hours after she disappeared from her family home in Dandridge.

“A team of divers recently found her body in a lake near her home,” the agency said on Facebook. “Our thoughts are with her family at this difficult time.”

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Serenity, who had autism and was nonverbal, went missing around 1 a.m., investigators said, prompting a statewide Amber Alert.

According to WVLT, citing authorities, she liked to play in the water.

Investigators did not provide any further details.

Dandridge is located approximately 30 miles east of Knoxville.

Tanasia is a national Real-Time reporter based in Atlanta who covers news from Georgia, Mississippi and the Southeast. Her subtopic is retail and consumer news. She is a graduate of Kennesaw State University and joined McClatchy in 2020.