Autistic 5-year-old found dead in pond near Hillsborough apartment complex

Authorities said a five-year-old autistic boy left his Hillsborough County apartment early Friday and was later found dead in a retention pond close to the building. The father’s last sighting of the child was around 5 a.m. while they shared a bed; the boy was missing when the father checked again at 9 a.m. A frantic call prompted the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office to mobilize over 140 personnel, including the agency’s Drone, Aviation, K-9 and Dive units.

The search uncovered the child in waist-high water roughly 20 to 30 feet from the complex shortly after 11 a.m. Sheriff Chad Chronister expressed deep sorrow, calling it the family’s “worst day.” He noted this is the second time an autistic child has died in a pond at the same apartment complex in less than two months.