TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Chief of Police struggled to find words.

Talking about Thursday's drowning of a 4-year-old girl and the realization that the child's mother is accused of leaving the child in the Hillsborough River, Chief Brian Dugan called the case "tragic, chaotic and unbelievable all at the same time."

Shakayla Denson, 26, faces charges of first degree murder, aggravated child abuse and grand theft auto charges. She was denied bond in court Friday morning and faces another hearing Wednesday at 10 a.m.

According to witnesses, the woman waded into the Hillsborough River near the Columbus Drive bridge, carrying a screaming child. About halfway across the river, witnesses said she released the child into the water and then started wading out.

According to police, Je’Hyrah Daniels, 4, struggled in the water. Divers pulled the unresponsive girl from the water a short time later. She was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Hospital at 4:49 p.m. An autopsy will confirm the cause of death, likely drowning.

"It's obviously a tragedy," said Dugan, who described being at the scene as divers brought the lifeless body ashore. "You can imagine what everybody (at the scene) was going through."

Dugan said an investigation into Denson's state of mind will now carefully proceed.

He emphasized a great deal of information would have to be examined and that so far, the department has had cooperation from witnesses, neighbors and family members.

"We will be digging into what her state of mind was," Dugan said. "The whole thing is just unbelievable. We have more questions than answers."

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office review of records concerning Denson, daughter 

As a result of this case, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office initiated a review of its records involving Shakayla Denson.

Sheriff's Office officials uncovered that on June 19, 2018, the Child Protection Investigation Division conducted an inadequate supervision investigation into Denson.

The matter was closed on July 31 due to no indicators of maltreatment, abuse or neglect. In light of this incident, the Sheriff's Office conducted an additional review of the case and concur with the original findings.

Due to the case involving a juvenile, no further information was released.