CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — A woman is arrested for stabbing a 12-year-old in the face and attempting to hide her body, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office.
Monday afternoon, Charlotte County deputies responded to a call at the Cecil Webb Wildlife Management Area.
Watch Fox 4's Alex Orenczuk report on a Memorial Day tragedy at the Cecil Webb Wildlife Management Area.
Witnesses reported the girl had severe cuts to her face and neck. Investigators said the child was in desperate need of medical assistance.
“There were stab wounds, there were cut wounds, there were defensive wounds on the victims hands as well where she tried to block some of the attack,” said Chris Hall, Public Information Officer for CCSO.
Hall said the girl had been hidden in the brush of the WMA.
“The victim had been, I hate to use the word discarded, but that's kind of the best way to describe what it was," said Hall. "After the attack she was left bloodied and under a pile of brush."
The girl managed to tell investigators that the suspect, Gwendolyn Girard, 35, attacked her with a knife before getting away in a gold-colored van. Authorities later found Girard and the van in North Fort Myers.
Girard was arrested for aggravated battery and aggravated child abuse. Detectives said Girard confessed, even providing details about the knife used in the attack.
Deputies searched a pong near where Girard lives, but did not confirm if they were looking for the knife.
Hall said the girl is now in stable condition after getting treatment at a hospital, he credits the people who found the girl with saving her life.
"You can call it fate, you can call it kismet, you can call it whatever you want but I think at the end of the day those people were there for a reason and thank God that they were there," said Hall.
CCSO also did not confirm the relationship between Girard and the victim, nor what a potential motive might have been.
Girard is being held in the Lee County jail on a $750,000 bond, and will be extradited back to Charlotte County for prosecution.
