9-year-old dies after drowning in Bucks County pond: police
NEW BRITAIN BOROUGH, Pa. (CBS) -- A 9-year-old boy died after he was found drowning in a Bucks County pond, the Central Bucks Regional Police Department said Monday night.
Authorities say he was fishing in a pond in New Britain Borough along Vaux and Hickory Roads. His bike and fishing pole were found near the pond.
Police said a dive team from the Point Pleasant Fire Department located the 9-year-old after a quick search of the pond was unsuccessful.
Authorities took the 9-year-old to Doylestown Hospital, where he was pronounced dead just after 7 p.m. The boy's identity has not been released.
People who live nearby say the entire community was searching for the 9-year-old. They say this could have been any one of their kids.
A woman who did not want to be on camera says the boy's father asked her for help.
"I just want everyone to pray for that little boy's family. They don't deserve to lose their 8,9-year-old son. That is every parent's worst nightmare," the woman said.
The same woman added the 9-year-old's father asked her for help.
"I was like, 'I haven't seen him. What's going on?' He was like, 'Well I found his bike down by the pond.' He said 'I found his fishing in the pond. I don't know where he is, I haven't seen him,'" she added
One man says he saw the young boy earlier in the day.
"Me and my son were riding scooter around and the bike was sitting there in the grass and he was fishing," Tyler Shuster, a neighbor, said.
Anyone with information or witnesses who saw the boy at the pond are asked to contact Captain Robert Milligan at 215-345-4143 or submit a tip anonymously to CrimeWatch.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family during this traumatic time. We extend our thanks to the Doylestown Fire Department, Central Bucks Ambulance, the Bucks County Special Operations Drone Team and the Point Pleasant Fire Department Dive Team," the Central Bucks Regional Police Department said in a statement.
