ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A 5-year-old boy with special needs died on Saturday in Orion Township after authorities discovered him in standing water on a neighbor’s pool cover two hours after he was reported missing.
According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to a residence on Devlon Street in Orion Township just before 4 p.m. where a 5-year-old boy’s grandfather reported that the boy was missing and was last seen at approximately 3:30 p.m.
Police say the back door to the house was open and that the boy was last seen wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. He was not wearing a jacket and the temperature outside was 37 degrees.
The grandfather told police that the boy had tried to leave the home in the past.
A search for the boy was conducted by the Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team, two K9 units, Orion Township Fire Department and multiple sheriff’s office deputies.
Officials say the group went house to house, searched nearby woods, a lake and a swamp. The team was unable to use drones due to high winds.
Firefighters located the boy, approximately two hours after he was last seen, on the cover of an above-ground pool at a neighbor’s home on Crestmont Drive about a block away from his residence.
Police say the cover of the pool had at least one foot of standing water on it. A ladder on the back of the pool is believed to be how the 5-year-old gained access to the water.
Paramedics performed CPR on the boy and he was transported to a local hospital where he later died.
An autopsy was performed on Sunday, but the cause and manner of death are still pending.
The investigation is ongoing and this story will be updated as we receive more information.