Students given support amid search for 10-year-old believed to have fallen through ice in Mitchell, Ont., area

The search for a 10-year-old girl believed to have fallen through ice in a creek Sunday is expected to continue in and around Mitchell, Ont., into Wednesday. 

With the weather improved over Tuesday's mix of rain and snow, an Ontario Provincial Police helicopter was able to rejoin a search that already includes OPP, three fire departments and specialists at underwater recovery. 

The search began Sunday when police received a 911 call before 10:30 a.m. ET after the girl fell through the ice just east of Mitchell, where the creek runs past farm fields. 

From there, the creek flows in a westerly direction toward town, where it connects with the Thames River. 

Police have not released the girl's name or any details about how she came to be in the creek on Sunday, when warm weather and rain began to turn bodies of water in the area into dangerous torrents of fast-moving water.

Chera Longston, a spokesperson with the Avon District School Board, said the board's health and well-being teams are in schools to help students deal with the difficult news. 

"This is impacting the entire community," said told CBC News. "Even if students don't know the students affected, it's important that they are supported from a community perspective and from a school perspective." 

Longston said the girl's disappearance has gained attention well outside Mitchell, a town of about 5,000 located 60 kilometres north of London. 

"Everyone, not just in the Mitchell community but in the entire surrounding area, is very concerned and is with the community ... and supporting the family and anyone who's impacted by this." 

An OPP spokesperson said the plan is to continue searching on Tuesday until it gets dark before resuming the search on Wednesday.