A seven-year-old girl's body was discovered in a creek just 25 minutes after being reported missing while watching a peewee football game with her mom, police said.
Kentucky State Police said Gabriella Doolin disappeared from Allen County High School in Scottsville, a town around 66 miles north of Nashville.
After her mother reported her missing to the Scottsville Police Department at 7:40 p.m. on Saturday, authorities said “a search began immediately."
"The entire community started looking for her" after an announcement went out over the intercom, family friend Mike Willoughby told NBC station WSMV. "A complete lockdown of the school" was enforced, he added.
The girl's body was found in a creek in a wooded area behind the school at 8:05 p.m., according to the Kentucky State Police.
“The Medical Examiners Office in Louisville will be performing an autopsy to determine the exact manner and cause of death,” the agency said, adding that the investigation “is being handled as a homicide."
Gabriella's tearful father Brian Doolin told WSMV that he would love to hold his daughter one more time.
"Hold those babies tight," he added.
Allen County Sheriff Jeff Cooke posted a message to the family and community on his personal Facebook page, thanking the community for the “help and support you are giving and have given to the Doolin family and law enforcement agencies.”
“We have a special bond in our community and it's been rocked to its core,” he said. "Please continue to pray."