Source The Charlotte Observer
A missing 5-year-old boy was pulled from a life-threatening predicament when a deputy found him clinging to a log in a murky water, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
Deputy Wes Brough was searching a wooded area in Deltona when he heard cries from the large pond Tuesday, Aug. 6. Deltona is about a 30-mile drive north from Orlando.
Video shows Brough ran into the waist-deep water to grab the boy up, then carried him the 30 to 40 feet back to shore.
The child is seen with his arms wrapped tightly around the deputy’s neck, and he appears reluctant to let go when placed on the ground.
“The boy’s father told deputies his 5-year-old son escaped the house through a second-story door, which set off an alarm. The family immediately began looking, asked neighbors for help, and called 911,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
“Deputies searched the house and the immediate area with no luck. But knowing that the 5-year-old had autism and was attracted to water, deputies began checking bodies of water near the neighborhood.”
Brough found the boy about 20 minutes later in a pond, about three blocks from the family’s home, maps show.
The boy was checked out by medical personnel before being returned to his parents, officials said.
“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 sheriff’s office said.
Brough joined the department four years ago and credits training for his quick response.
“I have three children of my own, one being a 5-year-old, so to have him hold on to me tightly like that, it really felt like he was my own kid holding on to me,” Brough said an interview posted on Facebook by the sheriff’s office.
The alarm that went off when the boy escaped his home at 7:30 p.m. is one of “several measures” the family had taken to secure their home, the sheriff’s office said.
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