A 4-year-old boy who went missing in a Coral Springs neighborhood and was later found unresponsive in a canal has died, authorities said.
Officials said the boy's father called Coral Springs Police to report a missing child at 5:20 p.m. Sunday. The father said the pair were on the playground when the child went missing.
Officers and fire rescue units with the Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department responded to the scene in the 1000 block of NW 116th Avenue. Soon after they arrived, officers noticed the boy's toy floating in a body of water nearby.
First responders and officers jumped in the canal in an attempt to locate the child. The boy was found shortly after and pulled from the water. He was transported to Broward Health Coral Springs, where he was later pronounced dead.
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1-4 in the state of Florida, according to the Florida Department of Health. In light of the tragic death, officials are urging parents and guardians to be aware of the importance of teaching children to swim - and the importance of staying aware.
"You can't be distracted by cell phones or other things going on," said Officer Tyler Reik, public information officer. "You just need to watch your children and also teach them to swim. Unfortunately there's multiple deaths each year resulting in children and drowning in South Florida. Whether it's a pool, a lake, canals or the ocean, we're surrounded by water down here."
This is a developing story and will be updated.
