Blondie
~*~*~*~<br><font color=blue>This TF always enjoys
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
- Messages
- 17,306
Boy, 6, drowns in pond
A nightlong search for a missing 6-year-old boy ended in tragedy yesterday when Virginia State Police divers found the child's body in a Caroline County pond.
Austin Robert Kelly of Spotsylvania County spent Friday afternoon at Pitts' Pond in Milford with a group of fellow parishioners from Spotswood Baptist Church, authorities said.
The boy was last seen on the pond's diving board. Bob and Tina Kelly called 911 when they couldn't find their son, Sheriff Homer Johnson said.
More than 70 searchers, most of them volunteers, spent the next six hours scouring the woods and nearby neighborhoods for any signs of the boy, Johnson said.
Divers from the state police and the Ladysmith Volunteer Fire Department searched the pond late Friday, but found nothing.
"The water's so green and it was so dark, they couldn't see a thing," Johnson said.
Pitts' Pond is a popular picnic spot for family and church groups. Owner Don Pitts allows use of the swimming hole with written permission. He has added a diving board and a waterfall made of rocks to the pond, along with a picnic pavilion on the shore. Caroline County government workers hold their annual picnic there.
Austin's family was at the pond with about 40 other members of Spotswood Baptist Church.
Two state police divers found Austin's body in about four feet of water near the waterfall, Johnson said.
The boy could not swim and had been wearing a life jacket earlier in the day, but apparently took it off at some point. Johnson believes the child may have slipped and fallen into the pond. He appeared to have a facial injury when he was discovered.
The boy's body will be taken to the state medical examiner's office in Richmond for an autopsy. Police believe the drowning was accidental, but the boy's death remains under investigation.
"It's so sad when something like this happens," Johnson said. "My heart goes out to those parents. Nothing's more terrible than losing a child."
There's no way I can attend this funeral....I just can't.
A nightlong search for a missing 6-year-old boy ended in tragedy yesterday when Virginia State Police divers found the child's body in a Caroline County pond.
Austin Robert Kelly of Spotsylvania County spent Friday afternoon at Pitts' Pond in Milford with a group of fellow parishioners from Spotswood Baptist Church, authorities said.
The boy was last seen on the pond's diving board. Bob and Tina Kelly called 911 when they couldn't find their son, Sheriff Homer Johnson said.
More than 70 searchers, most of them volunteers, spent the next six hours scouring the woods and nearby neighborhoods for any signs of the boy, Johnson said.
Divers from the state police and the Ladysmith Volunteer Fire Department searched the pond late Friday, but found nothing.
"The water's so green and it was so dark, they couldn't see a thing," Johnson said.
Pitts' Pond is a popular picnic spot for family and church groups. Owner Don Pitts allows use of the swimming hole with written permission. He has added a diving board and a waterfall made of rocks to the pond, along with a picnic pavilion on the shore. Caroline County government workers hold their annual picnic there.
Austin's family was at the pond with about 40 other members of Spotswood Baptist Church.
Two state police divers found Austin's body in about four feet of water near the waterfall, Johnson said.
The boy could not swim and had been wearing a life jacket earlier in the day, but apparently took it off at some point. Johnson believes the child may have slipped and fallen into the pond. He appeared to have a facial injury when he was discovered.
The boy's body will be taken to the state medical examiner's office in Richmond for an autopsy. Police believe the drowning was accidental, but the boy's death remains under investigation.
"It's so sad when something like this happens," Johnson said. "My heart goes out to those parents. Nothing's more terrible than losing a child."
There's no way I can attend this funeral....I just can't.
