A nonverbal 7-year-old girl with autism was found dead in a retention pond near her Texas home Wednesday ... just hours after her mom reported her missing.

People reports Skylar Hopson is believed to have left her Pearland home on foot Wednesday, carrying an iPad. It's unclear who was home at the time of Skylar's disappearance or how she got out, but her mother reportedly called police at approximately 9:40 AM.

Police launched a massive search for the girl, with drones, K-9s and search teams. Hours later, the Pearland Police Department -- with help from the Houston Police Department dive team -- recovered Skylar's body from a nearby pond ... she was declared dead at the scene.

Pearland Police Public Information Officer Chad Rogers told People, "We're not sure if that was her intended destination. No indication of it. There are still more cameras we'd like to look at and try to figure out exactly what her route would have been to get into that retention pond."

Police had surveillance video showing Skylar walking on the sidewalk with her iPad.

Rogers told the outlet the department is well aware of the dangers that bodies of water pose to children with autism ... and that when they learned of the pond in the area, that was the first place they looked.