WICHITA, Kansas – A five-year-old boy is in critical condition after being pulled from a neighbor’s pond Tuesday morning.
Sedgwick County sheriff’s deputies say the boy disappeared from his NW Sedgwick County home in the 4200 block of N. 183rd St. We. He was found just 30 minutes later in the pond not breathing.
For neighbors, it is an unthinkable tragedy.
"It's heart wrenching,” said neighbor Suzie Strunk. “You don't know what that mom and dad are going through."
Strunk learned the boy was missing after a letter carrier helped the family search for the child. Deputies say the five-year-old autistic boy was being watched by his adult sister, who noticed he was missing. She called her mother who immediately called 911.
"We have several reports that this has happened several times,” said Capt. George Mason with the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies say the child often disappeared and would hide in the home. But sadly, this time that was not the case. Within 30 minutes of disappearing, he would be pulled from a pond just across the road from his house.
The child was not breathing and was rushed to a Wichita hospital.
The pond is fairly small – just about 60 feet across. The owners tell KSN its depth goes to just six feet.
The pond is just across from Nick Rima’s house. He says the pond is mainly used for fishing and the neighborhood kids do not swim in it.
It leaves neighbors and sheriff’s deputies trying to figure out what attracted the boy to the water.
"It's very sad,” said Strunk.
The boy remains in critical condition at Via Christi on St. Francis.
