A five-year-old girl is dead following a large animal attack in Graham. Deputies shot and killed an aggressive dog that was found near her body, but they do not yet know if it is responsible for her death.
It happened just after 6 p.m. Thursday in a rural area off Graham’s Webster Road.
The little girl’s grandmother called 911 and reported her missing. Deputies later found her in the brush, dead.
“It’s very appropriate for us all to spend some time, send a prayer and a thought to the family,” Detective Josh Mills of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said. “This is a horrible situation. I could not imagine.”
According to investigators, the girl and her grandmother were at a family friend’s house when she went missing.
Deputies arrived and started looking for her.
“We heard a knock on the door and when I peeked out the window, I saw a Pierce County Sheriff,” Stacie Barcus, a neighbor, said.
Barcus told KIRO 7 she allowed the deputies to search her backyard. Her brother and husband were setting out to help search the rest of the neighborhood when she heard three gunshots.
The missing girl had been found.
“You could hear the blood curdling screams,” she said. “‘My baby, my baby. I’m so sorry.’”
Mills said the girl was found hidden in the brush with an aggressive dog nearby. Deputies shot and killed the dog but were not able to save the girl’s life.
“The girl had injuries consistent with a large animal attack,” he said.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office reports the dog belonged to the family friend.
Mills said it had no documented history of aggression, and the girl had been around it multiple times in the past without incident.
Neighbors said the dog was a cane corso.
Investigators are not yet sure if the dog killed the girl or if some other animal was responsible.
“We want to make sure before we jump to conclusions about that,” Mills said. “The dog is dead either way. I mean, it got in the way, and we had to render aid to that little girl.”
PCSO reports no arrests and no charges in the case, though the investigation is ongoing.
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