Search over for missing 11-year-old Oklahoma girl; body found

MCCURTAIN COUNTY, Ok. (KSLA) - McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy has confirmed that 11-year-old Layla Johnson has drowned.

Layla’s body was discovered by divers after 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning in the Carson Creek’s Firefly area on Broken Bow Lake.

Sheriff Clardy said that no one saw her go into the lake; however, her grandmother suspected that she was in the water.

Crews found her about 25 yards from where the grandmother thought she would be. Her body is being sent to the medical examiner; detectives do not expect foul play.

The McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office is assisting The Oklahoma State Parks Division in the investigation.

She was reported missing to authorities after 4 p.m. on Monday, June 1 after she was last seen at Beaver Bend.

Family members thought she was either abducted or drowned, Sheriff Clardy said. Some family members thought she was with other members of the family.

Park rangers and deputies spent hours searching in what’s known as the Carson Creek area.

The search was halted at 10 p.m. on Monday. The search resumed at daybreak on Tuesday where the family spent part of their day.

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