UPDATE: Autopsy finds 4-year-old girl drowned; death not seen as suspicious

UPDATE 6:20 p.m. Wednesday: The preliminary cause of death of a 4-year-old girl at Nacimiento Lake on Sunday was drowning, and authorities do not believe it was suspicious, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff-Coroner announced on Wednesday after conducting an autopsy.

Divers from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department Underwater Search and Recovery Dive Team found the body of Araceli Garcia of Greenfield in water about six feet deep, about 70 feet offshore after 5 p.m. Sunday, department spokesman Rob Bryn said.

When the Monterey County was reported missing after 2 p.m., the Sheriff’s Department launched “a really massive effort,” to find the girl, Bryn said.

That included divers, search-and-rescue teams, boats, a helicopter and even halting traffic to check cars to rule out an abduction, he added.

UPDATE 12:30 p.m. Monday: The 4-year-old girl who apparently drowned at Nacimiento Lake on Sunday has been identified as Araceli Garcia of Greenfield. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday, according to sheriff's officials.

UPDATE 6 p.m. Sunday: Divers from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department Underwater Search and Recovery Dive Team found the body of a 4-year-old girl in water about six feet deep about 70 feet offshore in Nacimiento Lake, according to a department spokesman.

Shortly after 2 p.m., the Sheriff’s Department learned from park rangers that a 4-year-old girl went missing on the shore east of the general store, spokesman Rob Bryn said.

Bryn said that 12 deputies, 20 search-and-rescue volunteers, a detective team, the dive team of 14 people, plus three boats – one each from the Sheriff’s Department, County/Cal Fire and the Monterey County parks department – started “a really massive effort” quickly to find the girl.

In addition to searching the water, ground teams were looking for her on the chance she had wandered away, Bryn said.

The area was cordoned off and auto traffic was halted in the event the girl’s disappearance was an abduction, Bryn added.

Police dogs from Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo, as well as a California Highway Patrol helicopter, assisted in the search too, Bryn said.

Bryn added that the girl’s identity would not be disclosed Sunday. He added that it’s not known as of 6 p.m. Sunday where the girl and her family reside.

UPDATE 5:45 p.m. Sunday: A Sheriff’s Department spokesman has confirmed that a 4-year-old girl has drowned at Nacimiento Lake.

Original story: The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department Underwater Search and Recovery Dive Team is searching for a missing 4-year-old girl at Nacimiento Lake, according to emergency radio broadcasts.

Deputies have cordoned off the beach near the North County lake resort marina north of Paso Robles, and a CHP helicopter was overhead about an hour after the girl was reported missing before 2 p.m. today.

Sheriff’s Department spokesman Rob Bryn said that the dive team volunteers have started a search walking through shallow waters and would proceed into a full dive into deeper water should the initial search not be fruitful.

He added that the CHP helicopter was called off the search after a time.

No other information about the search or the circumstances surrounding how the child ended up in the water were available as of 4:15 p.m. Sunday.