WINDSOR —The body of a 14-year-old girl was recovered at Kennedy Pond on Wednesday evening, following a five-hour search by authorities and community members.

The girl was visiting the pond with family friends, including three children and their mother, Windsor Police Chief Bill Daniels said.

Shortly before she went missing, the girl and one of the other children from the group were in the water moving toward one of the pond’s floating docks, Daniels said.

The other child, who was about 7-years-old, reached the dock, realized the girl was not visible in the water and called for help, he said.

The Windsor Police Department does not plan to release the identity of the girl, who was from northern Vermont, because she is a juvenile, said Det. Kevin Blanchard, who is overseeing the investigation on behalf of the department.

At the time of the incident, lifeguards were stationed on the far right, center and left sides of the beach, Blanchard said.

Lifeguards are employed through the Windsor Recreation Department, which oversees the beach on Ascutney Street.

“Immediately the lifeguards hopped into action,” said Emma McCumber, who was swimming at the pond with her kids when she heard screams from the beach from those who noticed the girl was missing.

At roughly 12:15 p.m., lifeguards were able to alert Windsor police officers, who happened to be patrolling the area.

Windsor police and fire departments as well as the Hanover dive team responded to the scene shortly after.

The Hanover dive team was unable to use its scuba gear due to technical difficulties, Windsor Fire Chief Kevin McAllister said. Instead, they deployed a boat with technology that scanned the water for the body.

Hanover Fire Chief Michael Gilbert declined to comment on the state of the scuba gear.

Along with the lifeguards, bystanders, including McCumber, attempted to perform a grid search in the water, though they lacked proper equipment.

“We went down as deep as we could, but it was pretty useless. There’s really long weeds in that area. You can’t see your hands in front of your face,” McCumber said.

The three lifeguards on duty Wednesday afternoon were certified through the American Red Cross, Recreation Director James Aldrich said on Thursday.

“They went above and beyond. I saw the panic in their faces,” Aldrich said.

The parents of the missing girl and her two brothers arrived at the scene at 3:30 p.m. The family observed the search from inside police tape by the pond.

Members of Vermont State Police arrived on the scene at roughly 4:15 p.m., McAllister said. They employed a drone that scanned the surface of the pond from above.

At 5:30 p.m. after 45 minutes of searching, the VSP dive team recovered the girl’s body less than 100 feet offshore between the docks and the yellow floating raft.

At this time, police are unsure if the girl knew how to swim.

“That is part of the investigation,” Daniels said. He said he doesn’t believe drugs or alcohol played of role in the incident.

“It seems like a tragic accident,” Daniels said.

An autopsy will be conducted by the state medical examiner.

Wednesday’s incident was at least the fourth water-related death in Vermont in the past two weeks.

Marion Umpleby can be reached at mumpleby@vnews.com or 603-727-3306. Emma Roth-Wells can be reached at erothwells@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.