A five-year-old boy with autism who went missing on Sunday evening was found dead in a canal near his Florida home.
The Miami Herald reports that Zander Brown’s mother reported him missing from their Lauderhill home on Sunday evening, having noticed that a backdoor in the house was unlocked.
Police noted that the house is in close proximity to a canal, and sent divers, bloodhounds, and helicopters to investigate.
TRAGIC #UPDATE 5-year-old Zander Brown has now died. The autistic child was found submerged in a canal behind his home after an exhaustive hour and half search. @CBSMiami #CBS4ThisMorning #Lauderhill pic.twitter.com/GTphqFrpbu
— RIELLE CREIGHTON (@Rielletvnews) July 9, 2018
Lauderhill Police Lt. Mike Santiago told the Miami Herald that the little boy was found around 9 p.m. in the creek. He was transported to Broward Health Coral Springs where he was later pronounced dead.
Edna Alexander, a friend of Zander’s mother, says the family is reeling from the shocking tragedy.
I don’t know what happened. I’m not sure if he had swimming lessons or not, but they’d just bought the home, and they were renovating it,” she told News 7 Miami.
“Grandma was in the house asleep, and [the boy’s mother] was in the front washing her car, so it was still daylight out. I don’t know when he left the house.”
Police are reportedly investigating.
[Feature image: Zander Brown/7 News Miami video screenshot]