Detectives investigate 3-year-old boy’s drowning in Homestead

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Miami-Dade detectives are investigating a 3-year-old boy’s drowning on Friday night in Homestead. The boy had been diagnosed with nonverbal autism.

Capt. Fernando Morales, a spokesman for the Homestead Police Department, said officers responded to a gated community in the area of Northeast Sixth Street and Northeast 21st Terrace.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel divers recovered the child’s body from a retention pond behind a row of homes.

Despite the life-saving efforts of both first responders and hospital medical staff, the toddler died. The circumstances leading to the child entering the water are still being investigated.

Officers were asking anyone with information about the case to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

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This is a developing story. Local 10 News Assignment Desk Editors Emily Hales and Wilson Louis contributed to this report.


About the Authors:

Joseph Ojo joined Local 10 in April 2021. Born and raised in New York City, he previously worked in Buffalo, North Dakota, Fort Myers and Baltimore.

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.