2-year-old boy dead after drowning at Broward pond near apartment complex, police say
By Abby Dodge, Ana Maria Soler
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PLANTATION, Florida (WFOR) — A family is grieving the death of a 2-year-old boy who drowned in a pond at an apartment complex in Plantation on Thursday evening.
The boy was first reported as missing at around 5:30 p.m. by his grandmother who called 911. The dispatcher said that it was a 10 to 15 minute time delay from when the call came in to when she called.
The dispatcher described the boy as non-verbal and known to go toward water.
A family member then found the child in a pond near the complex, located in the area of 16th Street and 108th Avenue, before police arrived. Bystanders began CPR, telling the dispatcher that water was coming out of the boy’s mouth.
Plantation Fire Rescue rushed the boy to Broward Health Medical Center, where he died.
Plantation police stretched a line around a large pond surrounded by apartments and canvassed the complex for several hours.
Neighbor Erwin Garcia, who has lived in the complex for nearly a decade, said he was devastated by the news.
“I have two kids, so it breaks my heart,” Garcia said.
Garcia said he had never considered the ponds a safety concern before.
“We have lakes everywhere here in South Florida, all of Florida. But no, I don’t even think about that,” Garcia said.
He said he does not know the family but is hoping they find comfort.
“I just feel so sorry for them,” Garcia said.
Plantation police said that it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the drowning.
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