A Florida family is mourning the death of their child after a tragic drowning accident. The little boy, who had autism, wandered away from his father and sibling during a trip to an inclusive playground when the dad looked away for just a minute. In the time afterward, the boy entered a body of water, where he ultimately drowned.
Details about the child were not released by authorities. Sadly, this isn’t the only child with autism to die by drowning in Florida recently.
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The child disappeared quickly.
A 5-year-old boy went missing while at SENSES Park in Kissimmee on November 13, 2024, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office shared in a Facebook post. The office was called by the boy’s father, who explained his son had wandered away while he was tending to his younger child.
Authorities worked together to locate the little boy.
“Multiple units from the Sheriff’s Office patrol, aviation, K9, and criminal investigations divisions responded to the area,” the sheriff’s office’s post explained. A trained bloodhound K9 was given something with the boy’s scent as a way to track which direction the child went in after leaving the park and disappearing.
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The boy was found nearby.
Authorities found the child in a body of water near the playground after an unknown amount of time. “Deputies entered the water and immediately began life-saving measures in an attempt to save the boy’s life,” the Facebook post read. “Tragically, the child was declared deceased shortly after being transported to Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orange County, Florida.”
The family was at a park designed for children with autism.
According to the Osceola County website, SENSES Park is an “all-inclusive playground that caters to children on the autism spectrum.”
“The structures are separated by space to allow for self-learning, exploration and less intense social play experiences for those on the autism disorder spectrum,” the site reads.
There was a similar case in central Florida recently.
That same week the child died in Kissimmee, another child with autism died by drowning, FOX 35 Orlando reported. Four-year-old Waylon Childs was at a park with his father and siblings in Ormond Beach when he wandered away from his family. He was found hours later in a nearby pond.
