The 4-year-old boy with autism was drowned in Jacksonville Pond
A child was registered as missing on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. and found in a nearby pond by a K9 team about an hour and a half later, but did not survive.
First coastal news
- A 4-year-old autistic boy drowned in a Jacksonville retention pond and marked the second incident this year.
- Earlier drowns have arranged security campaigns and improved search and rescue proceedings in the city.
- Statistically, children with autism wander and are drawn to water, which increases the drowning risk.
A second child with autism has been the victim of a pond in Jacksonville who drowns in Jacksonville.
On Tuesday, the officers answered a missing child at 5:30 p.m. in the 9000 Block of Star Drive near Baymeadows Circle, said Sheriff's Office -LT. Adam Blinn at the crime scene. In addition to the fire brigade and rescue staff, the Sheriff's office sent its units K-9, air, drone, diving and missing people to search for the 4-year-old boy.
Shortly before 7 p.m., the K-9 team followed it into a nearby pond. He was taken to a hospital, but it didn't make it.
“At this point, the circumstances of the missing child are still being examined,” said the Sheriff's office.
In the previous drown, the Sheriff's office said that the officials were called for a missing child with special need on February 1 at 2:00 p.m. for the 400 Block of Dennard Avenue near the Beaver Street. A short time later, 7-year-old Delaney McGough was no longer in a nearby retention pond.
With similar tragedies over the years, city council members in 2021 demanded a security campaign to prevent more deaths and to take into account the addition of fences or obstacles to ponds.
In the same year, the city, the fire brigade and the office of the sheriff started new failed search and rescue proceedings for missing people. When the fire brigade's dispatchers have been activated, send notifications to all firefighters and computer terminals in firefighting engines in order to receive an immediate answer.
“You know what you are looking for and you know the description of the missing person,” said the then fire chief Kieth Powers.
The sheriff's office cited statistics in which 50% of children with autism usually hike and almost all hike towards water, and they drown 160 -more often than their colleagues.
Security tips for parents with children who have autism
- Start water safety training at a young age.
- Emphasize the dangers of water.
- Use dice arms and gates to prevent accidental access to water.
- Install door arms and window alarms or a video door ring.
- Let current photos be available for first aiders if your child is to hike.
- Register for the Revamp registration at Jaxreeady.com/revamp to share important details about your relatives with local first aiders to help you search.