Woman arrested after death of seven-year-old Nyla May Bradshaw in Doncaster

Police have arrested a woman in her 30s after the death of seven-year-old Nyla May Bradshaw, who was found unresponsive in a pond on the grounds of Owston Hall golf course in Doncaster. South Yorkshire Police said she was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter and child neglect and has since been bailed while enquiries continue.

Nyla was reported missing at 9.50am on 30 March 2026 from the Skellow area of Doncaster after being taken to a park in Owston that morning. Officers launched an extensive search using drones and a police aircraft before she was found face down in the pond at the Owston Hall site. She was taken to Doncaster Royal Infirmary and pronounced dead at 13:18 BST the same day.

Detective Chief Inspector Gary Magnay said Nyla’s death had a huge emotional impact on her family, friends, loved ones and the wider community. He urged the public not to speculate, including on social media, while the proceedings remain active. South Yorkshire Police said its initial inquiries had indicated the circumstances were not suspicious, but further investigation led to the arrest.

The case has since drawn close attention to the safeguarding arrangements around Nyla’s care. An inquest heard that Nyla was autistic and non-verbal, and that she had been being cared for by a childminder when she passed through a gap in a fence and approached woodland close to the golf course. The senior coroner provisionally set 8 December 2026 for the full inquest.

Little Rainbows Doncaster described Nyla as a deeply loved girl and said her death raised concerns about the adequacy, continuity and safety of care provision for disabled children outside school settings. An online fundraiser for her family had raised more than £20,000 by 9 April 2026, a sign of how strongly the loss has resonated in Doncaster and beyond. The arrest has added a criminal investigation to questions that now run from the first missing-person alert to the final moments before Nyla was found.