A 2-year-old boy is dead after he was found unresponsive in a retention pond near his family’s apartment complex in Plantation, Florida, according to police.
The child’s grandmother dialed 911 around 5:30 p.m. Thursday after realizing the toddler was missing, according to authorities. Emergency dispatchers noted the boy could not speak and had a known tendency to wander toward bodies of water — details that shaped the urgency of the search.
Before officers could reach the scene, a relative located the boy in a pond near the intersection of 16th Street and 108th Avenue. Neighbors nearby immediately stepped in, starting CPR while still on the line with dispatchers, who were told the child was expelling water from his mouth — a sign he had inhaled water into his lungs.
Plantation Fire Rescue crews transported the child to Broward Health Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.
In the hours after, officers cordoned off the pond, which sits surrounded by residential buildings, and went door-to-door through the complex as part of the investigation.
The tragedy shook residents who live near the water feature every day. One neighbor, who has called the complex home for close to ten years, said he was left heartbroken by the news, especially as a parent of two children himself.
He admitted the ponds scattered throughout South Florida communities rarely register as a danger in daily life, despite how common they are across the state.
Though he did not personally know the grieving family, he said he hoped they would eventually find some measure of peace.
Plantation police confirmed the incident remains under active investigation as authorities work to determine the full circumstances behind the drowning.