It was 12:45 p.m. Friday afternoon when Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister gave the sad news.<\/p>\n
“This is a family\u2019s worst day,\u201d he began.<\/p>\n
After the sheriff\u2019s office received a 911 call earlier Friday morning, more than 140 officers deployed to the Northgreen at Carrollwood apartment complex in search of a missing 5-year-old boy with autism. <\/p>\n
His father awoke to find his son missing, with the only sign of his departure being a hole the boy apparently tore in their screened-in patio.<\/p>\n
Deputies and canines searched the immediate area, eventually tracking him down to a retention pond located directly behind the apartment building. <\/p>\n
Divers were quickly called in, where they found the body of the young boy, deceased. Authorities have not released the name of the boy.<\/p>\n
It is the second time in two months that a child with autism has drowned in a retention pond at the apartments, according to Chronister.<\/p>\n
The death of the child echoes an alarming statewide trend in drownings, particularly among young people with autism.<\/p>\n
A fatal trend<\/p>\n
In Florida, unintentional drowning is the leading cause of preventable death for children ages 1 to 4. <\/p>\n
According to data from the Florida Department of Children and Families<\/a>, dozens of children have lost their lives to drowning in Florida this year alone. In 2025, 119 children drowned in Florida<\/a>, with nearly 80% under age 3.<\/p>\n Casey McGovern lost her daughter to drowning in 2009 at just 19 months old. <\/p>\n It led her to start the Every Child A Swimmer<\/a> program, where she dedicates her life to preventing other families from experiencing the same devastation.<\/p>\n McGovern discussed the spike in childhood drowning deaths on The Florida Roundup<\/a>. In her teachings on water safety, identifying potential hazards is among the first steps a household can take.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have fire extinguishers. We have smoke detectors. But nobody really talks about that great big beautiful body of water behind your home, near your home, and having a plan. And so I think that that’s one of the biggest problems is just knowledge of the hazard and what am I going to do about it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The reality of retention ponds<\/p>\n McGovern’s warnings mirrored Friday’s drowning. <\/p>\n The retention pond behind the apartment complex is exactly the kind of unmonitored hazard she warns about.<\/p>\n Chronister spoke extensively with the victim\u2019s family at the scene.<\/p>\n \u201c[I] got done speaking to the grandmother and asked her, \u2018What could the sheriff’s office do for you?\u2019 and she said, \u2018Change this nightmare. Wake us up from this nightmare,\u2019\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n He asked if there was a message she wanted people to hear.<\/p>\n \u201cShe said, \u2018Tell people not to ever avoid getting swim lessons.\u2019 So I’m going to honor those wishes. Anyone out there, regardless of the age of your child, regardless of the circumstances, they have special needs. It doesn’t matter. Get them swim lessons,\u201d Chronister said.<\/p>\n