Law enforcement in Newton & McDonald Counties announced a deputy found the body of nine-year-old Rowan Ford Friday morning.
Newton County Sheriff Ken Copeland said Ford's body was found near Powell, about 10 miles south of the girl's hometown of Stella, a village of about 200 people.
Copeland, who spoke to reporters at the sheriff's office in Neosho, said authorities were still determining how the girl died.
He said the Greene County coroner would conduct an autopsy.
But he said investigators are sure the girl's death was a homicide, although he declined to elaborate. The sheriff wouldn't say if there were any suspects but said no arrests had been made.
He said a McDonald County deputy found Rowan when he stopped to search the area while on his way to work. Copeland said the deputy, whom he would not identify, searched the area after recalling that there was a cavern there.
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