The child disappeared from his family’s apartment Friday morning, prompting a massive search involving deputies, dogs, drones, aircraft and divers.
TAMPA, Fla. — A 5-year-old boy with autism who disappeared from his family’s apartment was found dead in a nearby retention pond Friday after more than 140 law enforcement units joined an intensive search, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.
The child, whose name had not been publicly released, was last seen by one of his parents around 5 a.m. Aug. 7 inside the family’s home near Cypress Mulch Circle and Northgreen Avenue. A parent woke around 9 a.m. and discovered the boy was missing and that there was a hole in a rear screen. After searching the home and surrounding area without finding him, the parent called 911 at 9:31 a.m., according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies said the boy was autistic, nonverbal and did not respond to his name. Authorities believed he had wandered away from the residence. The search quickly expanded around the Northgreen at Carrollwood apartment complex, bringing together patrol deputies, aviation crews, drones, K-9 teams and a dive team.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said search dogs repeatedly directed investigators toward a retention pond behind the apartment complex. Divers entered the water, and authorities said the boy was located shortly after 11 a.m. The sheriff’s office formally announced at 1:13 p.m. that he had been found dead.
“There are no words that can ease the pain of losing a child,” Chronister said in a statement. He said every deputy and detective who responded had been working toward bringing the child home safely and that the agency was grieving with the boy’s family.
FOX 13 reported that the boy had recently turned 5 and had been accepted into an elementary school program suited to his learning needs. Chronister said the family had been preparing for him to begin school Monday. Instead, he said, they were confronting the sudden loss of their child.
The sheriff also said the death was the second drowning involving a child with autism at the same apartment complex in less than two months. Authorities said the earlier case involved another child and a different retention pond. Officials had not announced any investigative connection between the deaths beyond their location and similar circumstances.
The latest death drew renewed attention to drowning risks in Florida. WUSF reported that state data lists unintentional drowning as the leading cause of preventable death among Florida children ages 1 through 4. The station reported that 119 children drowned statewide in 2025, with nearly 80% of those deaths involving children younger than 3.
During his briefing, Chronister said Tampa’s numerous retention ponds, wooded areas and other bodies of water can make missing-child searches especially difficult. He relayed a request from the boy’s grandmother that families take swimming and water safety seriously. The remarks came after Chronister spoke with the family following the recovery.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation remained active and ongoing. Authorities had not publicly released the child’s identity or announced additional findings about the circumstances surrounding his death as of Saturday.
Author note: Last updated August 8, 2026.