Shortly after Bartow County investigators joined the search for a missing 7-year-old girl from East Point, police said she was dead as a result of homicide.

Kamaire Wash was reported missing by her father Thursday morning after he said he woke up about 8 a.m. and realized she was gone, East Point police spokesman Capt. Cliff Chandler said.

Bartow County officials were trying to determine the identity of a body found Wednesday in Lake Allatoona. Fishermen called 911 when they found a body in the Bartow County section of the lake about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, officials said.

Chandler said Bartow County investigators got involved with the search Thursday because the body found in Lake Allatoona was similar to that of Wash, who was described as 4 feet tall and 40 pounds.

“Based upon the body found, it would be too much of a coincidence,” Chandler said.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has not positively identified the body, but Wash is considered a homicide victim, Chandler said.

Police said the McClellan Avenue apartment’s front door was open and no signs of forced entry were apparent, so police immediately considered the missing case suspicious.

The girl’s father and his live-in girlfriend were taken to jail after being questioned Thursday afternoon.

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People join a rally in support for U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees on Tuesday afternoon, April 1, 2025, at the Atlanta headquarters after federal cuts triggered significant layoffs. (Photo: Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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