Posted on 07/04/2005 10:11:36 AM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) A 7-year-old boy vacationing with his family drowned in a hotel pool and remained unnoticed for a couple of hours as deputies and others searched for him, authorities said.
A tourist wearing goggles found Tad Williams, of Wadesboro, N.C., Sunday at the bottom of the 8-foot-deep pool at the Howard Johnson's Enchanted Land Resort, Osceola County sheriff's spokeswoman Twis Lizasuain said.
The sheriff's office ruled the death an accident. An autopsy was scheduled to confirm the cause of death.
Tad had been reported missing after he raced to the pool area ahead of other family members. The boy's body was found about two hours later.
``The 7-year-old was very anxious to go swimming, so he took off ahead of his family and he went to the pool first,'' Lizasuain said. ``By the time the family got down to the pool, they did not see him.''
Deputies interviewed about 30 guests in the pool area before checking nearby restaurants and hotels and searching by helicopter, she said.
``If you were standing at the side of the pool, you would not have seen him, either,'' Lizasuain said.
The family had arrived Saturday night, Lizasuain said.
How in the hell can deputies search a pool area with 30 people around and not find a boy at the bottom?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!
And it took someone with GOGGLES to fine him? I can see a penny on the bottom of my pool, and it's deeper than the pool in the story!
Something's really screwy with this story! I think the hotel needs a new pool guy if the water's that murky!
Note: when children run to pools, and go missing, look in the pools first.
Why they didn't have someone look in the water earlier is a mystery. The sun's glare at that time could have obscured the view of parts of the bottom.
It's Florida!!
That guy had the little girl in his room for a couple a days and his friends in the same house heard "nothing".
Florida......where only the sharks have good hearing and eyesight.
I think I would hve been "IN" the damn pool looking. What's up with people?
Stuff happens.
You didn't hear that here first.
I KNEW it wouldn't be many posts in before another FReeper said what I was thinking.
How bizarre. What kind of pool is it that you'd need goggles to see the bottom of it?
No but deep down inside we all thought the same thing ... still a senseless tragedy and one I will use as an example for my own kids.
Exactly.
When mine were little, and we went on summer vacations, my kids KNEW, w/out being told, they have to WAIT! for mom or dad before going anywhere!
I saw a pool that murky when I was on vacation. A kid dove to the bottom of the deep end and he was only visible if you knew he was there. You had trouble seeing your feet in the shallow end.
Where were the parents during those couple of hours, until they decided to look for the boy?
BTW, there's stuff in there that makes it murky.
That pool should have been shutdown until it was cleaned and passed health inspection.
Girl drowns at hotel pool (Sun Jun 26, 9:03 AM ET)
A 7-year-old girl from Geneva drowned at a Wisconsin Dells hotel pool, police said Saturday.
Megan Godoy was found motionless at the bottom of a 5-foot-deep pool around 5:20 p.m. Thursday, Wisconsin Dells police said.
Obviously.
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