Missing Florida boy with autism found dead in lake; 3rd drowning in 2 weeks

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. - Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said he did not have the answers nor the right words to convey his sadness after a missing 7-year-old boy with autism was found dead in a lake. It is the second child with autism in Volusia County who has wandered away and been found dead in a body of water – and the third in less than two weeks in Central Florida.

Last week, a 4-year-old boy with autism died in Ormond Beach. A week before that, a 5-year-old boy drowned in a park in Kissimmee.

"Here we are, again, a week later, and a little boy has drowned. An autistic child has drowned. And I don't have the answers or any of us have the answers on how we prevent this from happening to another family," he told reporters during a Monday morning press conference.

Sheriff Chitwood said the boy's family went out to pick up a pizza for dinner on Monday night. When the mom got home, the boy, identified as Charlie, bolted from the car.

"He bolts from the car. She's unable to catch him because he's pretty darn fast and can run pretty far," he said.

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She made the first 911 call at 8:07 p.m. At 8:09 p.m., surveillance cameras at a nearby park captured Charlie running through the park. At 8:12 p.m., the first deputy arrived.

More than 140 law enforcement officers, 2 helicopters, three K-9s, and several drones were dispatched to help find the boy – and spent hours searching for him.

On Tuesday morning, a neighbor called 911 to report possibly seeing a body in a lake, Sheriff Chitwood said.

Report: Missing boy's home found in ‘state of disarray’

According to a Volusia Sheriff's Office incident report, deputies aiding in the search also conducted a search of the boy's home, where it was found to be "in a state of disarray."

Deputies found cockroaches, minimal food, and no clean clothes inside the home, the report said. All three children slept on "dirty" mattresses in a bedroom, according to the report. The fridge was chained shut, and the bathroom was guarded by a biometric lock, the report said.

"It was revealed the home to have a large roach infestation, minimal food for all 3 children in the home, no apparent clean clothes, all of the children shared a small bedroom with dirty mattresses on the floor, the refrigerator was chained closed, and the only bathroom in the residents was locked via a biometric lock only accessible to (the parents)."

DCF was contacted and determined the home was "unsafe" for the two other children who lived there, who were all on the autism spectrum, the report said.

No charges have been announced in the boy's disappearance, death, or connected to the alleged conditions of the home.

Organizations working together to find solutions

He said preliminarily several organizations – Volusia Sheriff's Office, Halifax Health, Easterseals, Florida Department of Children and Families – have begun working together to come up with potential solutions, including possibly introducing children with autism to water and swimming, and finding ways to use technology to help parents and law enforcement monitor children.

"It's a well-known fact that autistic kids love water," Sheriff Chitwood said.

4-year-old with autism drowns in Ormond Beach

Waylon Childs, 4, was reported missing on Sunday, Nov. 18. He was at Central Park in Ormond Beach with his dad and two siblings, VSO said.

At some point, he went missing. His body was found hours later in a pond near the park by the Volusia County Dive Team.

He had autism and was nonverbal. 

His aunt, Katie Olinger, who took care of him each week, said Waylon was a light in their lives.

"We called them Waylon Wednesdays. It's just not going to be the same and it's just my kids are missing him too, and all the other cousins and his brothers, I'm sure. It's a really big hole in our family, for sure."

She wants to start a foundation in Waylon's name.

5-year-old with autism drowns in Kissimmee lake

Arturo, a 5-year-old boy with autism, died after he went missing in a park and was later found in a nearby pond, according to the Osceola County Sheriff's Office.

The boy was with his dad and sibling at SENSES Park in Kissimmee on Nov. 13, when he went missing.

A bloodhound later found the boy's body.

5-year-old boy with autism rescued

In August, a 5-year-old boy with autism went missing and was rescued by a Volusia Sheriff's Office deputy.

It happened on Aug. 6. The boy went missing from a home on Valmont Lake in Deltona that evening after escaping through a door.

The home had an alarm, which was triggered. The boy's family searched for him, but were unable to find it and contacted 911, VSO said.

A VSO deputy was searching through some nearby woods and found the boy clinging to a log in the water – alive.

"I got him, I got him!" the deputy is heard saying on bodycam video.

"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 Volusia Sheriff's Office said on social media. "Great job to all involved on this call!"

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