Naylor child drowns in ditch after accident

NAYLOR -- A young Naylor girl apparently drowned Wednesday afternoon when the vehicle she was riding in ran off a Ripley County road into a flooded ditch.

The girl, who was found by a Ripley County deputy, was identified as Alyssa Mitchell, 4, said Ripley County Coroner Mike Jackson.

The child was a passenger in a Ford Expedition being driven south by her father on Route H, southwest of Naylor, "down toward the Arkansas line," Ripley County Sheriff Ron Barnett said.

Just before 4 p.m., Daniel Mitchell called authorities from his cellphone to report the accident, Barnett said.

"Apparently what happened, he ran off the road (and) knocked himself unconscious," Barnett said.

Mitchell's SUV went into a flooded ditch, causing the SUV to overturn onto its side, he said. Alyssa and a passenger Barnett described as a baby also were inside the vehicle.

"Evidently, the 4-year-old got out of the vehicle and ended up in the water," Barnett said.

When Daniel Mitchell regained consciousness, he apparently found his daughter missing, got the baby out and called authorities, Barnett said

Deputies, along with members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, responded to the scene. The crash reportedly is being investigated by the patrol.

"(Alyssa) was found about an eighth of a mile south of where the vehicle crashed, by a deputy," Barnett said. "She had been dead for a little while by the time we got down there."

Daniel Mitchell was taken to Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center for treatment, Jackson said,

"I don't know his condition, (but he had) no life-threatening injuries," Jackson said.