{"id":223692,"date":"2026-04-08T18:11:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T18:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/223692\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T18:11:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T18:11:09","slug":"brief-distraction-ends-in-tragedy-as-4-year-old-drowns-at-florida-community-pool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/223692\/","title":{"rendered":"Brief distraction ends in tragedy as 4-year-old drowns at Florida community pool"},"content":{"rendered":"

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A 4-year-old boy drowned <\/a>at a community pool at a Kissimmee resort, authorities said, in a tragic accident that underscores the dangers of brief distractions around water.<\/p>\n

The tragic incident happened on Monday at The Cove East at Storey Lake Resort. According to the Osceola County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a>, the child had been at the pool with his mother and siblings when he slipped into the water unnoticed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis mom had three kids. Her younger child got her attention away from the four-year-old,\u201d said Kim Montes, director of public information and community relations for the Osceola County Sheriff\u2019s Office. \u201cThe four-year-old slipped into the water in a matter of seconds and unfortunately did not survive this incident.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bystanders and first responders gather at a Kissimmee resort community pool Monday after a 4-year-old boy drowned, despite CPR efforts to save him. (CNN Newsource)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Bystanders pulled the child from the pool and immediately began CPR until emergency crews arrived. He was transported to Arnold Palmer Hospital,<\/a> where he later died, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Montes praised those who acted quickly and used the moment to emphasize the importance of water safety and CPR training<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur hearts go out to the families. This is a heartbreaking time for them,\u201d she said. \u201cThe bystanders that tried to save this child with CPR. It\u2019s another reminder for anybody to know about CPR, especially pediatric CPR, and what to do in the case of an emergency involving water.\u201d<\/p>\n

See also: ‘Spring Cleaning’: Indian River sheriff announces results of major narcotics operations<\/a><\/p>\n

The Cove East at Storey Lake Resort is managed by Casiola Vacation Homes. The company confirmed there is no lifeguard on duty at the community pool. In a statement, Casiola said it provides guests with water safety information and strongly encourages families to designate a specific adult to monitor children whenever they are in or around the pool.<\/p>\n

That approach, often referred to as a \u201cwater watcher,\u201d is also recommended by the sheriff\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne person is in charge of watching the kids,\u201d Montes said. \u201cThey don\u2019t go on the cell phone. They don\u2019t drink. They don\u2019t get distracted. Even though a lot of these places have safety features put in place, there\u2019s nothing more safe than having your eyes on children that are in the water at all times.\u201d<\/p>\n

The investigation into the drowning is ongoing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KISSIMMEE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A 4-year-old boy drowned at a community pool at a Kissimmee resort, authorities said,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223693,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-223692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}