DELTONA, Fla. — Emotional video was shared by a Florida sheriff's office of their deputy jumping into a pond to rescue a 5-year-old boy with autism who was reported missing Tuesday.
The Volusia Sheriff's Office said a missing child was reported around 7:30 p.m. from a home in Deltona. The boy's father told deputies his son escaped the house through an upstairs door, which set off an alarm.
The family immediately began looking for the child while also calling 911 for support, the sheriff's office said.
When deputies arrived, they searched the house and surrounding area with no luck. After learning the child had autism and was attracted to water, deputies then shifted their search to the nearest ponds in the neighborhood.
The sheriff's office said Deputy Wes Brough and others headed for a pond a few blocks away. At about 7:48, Brough heard a voice and spotted the boy out in the water. The video shows him jumping into the pond, securing the boy and carrying him to shore where he was attended to and returned to his family.
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children under 15 with autism, according to the Autism Society of Florida.
"It was confirmed the family had taken several measures to secure the house, including the alarm on the door that immediately alerted them the boy had gone missing," the sheriff's office said.