Police knocked on doors asking to check people's gardens in search of a toddler who was found dead in east London, a neighbour said.
A two-year-old girl was reported missing in Dagenham on Saturday January 29 and her body was discovered in a garden less than an hour later.
Neighbours claimed the child was found dead in a black builder's bucket, with one local saying police told them the child had drowned.
One neighbour today said she heard police were knocking on doors asking to check people's gardens after the child went missing on Saturday.
A woman who lives further down the road, who did not wish to be named, told The Mirror on Wednesday: “I couldn’t get to my house [in the car] because it was all blocked off.
“I only knew that a child had gone missing because my neighbour had told me police were knocking on doors to check gardens.
“They checked at least four gardens.
“There were lots of police cars, at least three paramedic cars and a big ambulance, plain clothes police.
“There were lots of people standing at the corner [of the road] because people didn’t know what was happening.
“There was commotion because there was a helicopter.
“It’s terrible. It’s really sad.”
It has not yet been officially confirmed if the garden was at her home, although MyLondon understands from neighbours that she was not at her family’s property.
Her devastated family wept as they said "now is not the time" to talk about her life or what happened.
But neighbour Shorifa Begum, 44, who lives immediately next door, said: ‘’On Sunday I went to the house and I asked ‘what happened did you find her?’
‘’They said she had died. They told me to come and see.
‘’They took me to their garden and said she was in a black bucket. They found her in a large black bucket and said she was dead.
‘’The bucket was next to a wall in the garden. A police dog had found it."
A statement by the Metropolitan Police says: "Police attended an address in Reede Road, Barking after a two-year-old girl was reported missing around 16:00hrs on Saturday, 29 January.
"The child was found unresponsive in the garden shortly after being reported missing.
"Despite the efforts of paramedics, she was pronounced dead at the scene. Next of kin are aware.
"The death is being treated as unexplained. A post-mortem examination will be held week commencing Monday, 31 January.
"Enquiries are ongoing, led by the East Area Command Unit. There have been no arrests."
