A Riverview family is grieving this weekend after their 5-year-old son, who had autism, was found unresponsive in a community retention pond Friday morning. According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the boy was reported missing from his home on Grand Elm Drive around 9 a.m. Deputies arrived at 9:11 and searched the neighborhood with a K-9 unit. At 9:20, a deputy located the child in the pond, pulled him from the water, and began CPR until Hillsborough County Fire Rescue arrived. He was transported to AdventHealth, where he was pronounced dead. The investigation remains ongoing.
Sheriff Chad Chronister praised his deputies’ quick response and said, “Losing a child is a pain no family should ever know.” For families across the Suncoast, the tragedy is a painful reminder of how quickly a child who wanders can reach water. Retention ponds sit at the center of countless subdivisions from Riverview to Bradenton, and drowning is one of the leading causes of death for children with autism who wander.
If you care for a child with autism, experts recommend layered protections: alarms on doors and windows, fencing and self-latching gates around pools and ponds, swim lessons when appropriate, and letting neighbors and first responders know your child may wander. The sheriff’s office continues to investigate. Our thoughts are with the boy’s family and everyone who responded on Friday. Have you taken steps to keep the water near your home safer for kids?
