The Daily Populous Saturday August 10th, 2024 evening edition
Authored by charlotteobserver.com and submitted by throwaway16830261

National Missing 5-year-old boy found desperately clinging to log in pond, Florida video shows

A missing 5-year-old boy was pulled from a life-threatening predicament when a deputy found him clinging to a log in a murky water, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.

Deputy Wes Brough was searching a wooded area in Deltona when he heard cries from the large pond Tuesday, Aug. 6. Deltona is about a 30-mile drive north from Orlando.

Video shows Brough ran into the waist-deep water to grab the boy up, then carried him the 30 to 40 feet back to shore.

The child is seen with his arms wrapped tightly around the deputy’s neck, and he appears reluctant to let go when placed on the ground.

Video shows Deputy Wes Brough was searching a wooded area when he heard cries from the large pond near sunset on Tuesday, Aug. 6, in Deltona.

“The boy’s father told deputies his 5-year-old son escaped the house through a second-story door, which set off an alarm. The family immediately began looking, asked neighbors for help, and called 911,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

“Deputies searched the house and the immediate area with no luck. But knowing that the 5-year-old had autism and was attracted to water, deputies began checking bodies of water near the neighborhood.”

Brough found the boy about 20 minutes later in a pond, about three blocks from the family’s home, maps show.

The boy was checked out by medical personnel before being returned to his parents, officials said.

“Like all VSO deputies, Deputy Brough has received Autism Awareness Training to help prepare for a wide variety of calls involving people with autism, including missing children,” the sheriff’s office said.

Brough joined the department four years ago and credits training for his quick response.

“I have three children of my own, one being a 5-year-old, so to have him hold on to me tightly like that, it really felt like he was my own kid holding on to me,” Brough said an interview posted on Facebook by the sheriff’s office.

The alarm that went off when the boy escaped his home at 7:30 p.m. is one of “several measures” the family had taken to secure their home, the sheriff’s office said.

hairijuana on August 9th, 2024 at 12:24 UTC »

Oh man wow. Ponds in Florida almost always have critters that would happily snack on a small child. So glad this kid was found alive!

USMNT_superfan on August 9th, 2024 at 11:44 UTC »

Finally, a heart warming Reddit story.

throwaway16830261 on August 9th, 2024 at 11:28 UTC »

Mirror for the submitted article: https://archive.is/K1hzW

Volusia Sheriff's Office, "Missing child found and rescued from pond: 8/6/24" ("8/6/24" is August 6, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFL-qR214d0 from https://www.youtube.com/@VolusiaSheriff

Volusia Sheriff's Office, "Deputy Wes Brough on rescue of 5-year-old in pond!": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3P5dGYLMN0 from https://www.youtube.com/@VolusiaSheriff

"Why are autistic individuals so often attracted to water?": https://old.reddit.com/r/autism/comments/2qs0cg/why_are_autistic_individuals_so_often_attracted/

"Why Water? The Science Behind Our Attraction to Aquatic Environments": https://www.autismfl.org/post/why-water-the-science-behind-our-attraction-to-aquatic-environments

https://old.reddit.com/r/Autism_Parenting/comments/1eo6ao3/missing_5yearold_boy_found_desperately_clinging/