Crime & Safety
Missing Child Dies After Being Found Unresponsive In Pond: Police
The 7-year-old child was found unresponsive in a Lake in the Hills retention pond and taken to an area hospital, police said.
LAKE IN THE HILLS — A missing 7-year-old child died Wednesday evening after being found unresponsive in a retention pond in a Lake in the Hills neighborhood, authorities said.
Police said officers were dispatched shortly before 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 18, to the 0–100 block of Steeplechase Way after family members reported the child missing. The child had last been seen a short time earlier.
According to police, an officer located the child in a nearby retention pond during the search effort and immediately began lifesaving measures after removing the child from the water. Paramedics from the Huntley Fire Protection District arrived minutes later and continued resuscitation efforts before transporting the child to Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital, where the child was later pronounced dead.
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Officials said foul play is not suspected, and the incident remains under investigation in coordination with the McHenry County Coroner’s Office.
Lake in the Hills Police Sgt. James Rife said the child was last seen at 5:30 p.m. and police received an initial missing child report at 5:45 p.m. The first officer arrived on scene three minutes after the missing child report was made, Rife said.
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At 6:02 p.m., the child was found in the retention pond by the responding officer, Rife told Patch. It's unknown how long the child was in the water, he added.
Rife said there was no fencing around the retention pond. The pond is surrounded by a berm.
The McHenry County Coroner's Office was notified by Northwestern Huntley Hospital at about 7 p.m. regarding the death of the child, who was transported from Lake in the Hills and pronounced deceased at the hospital, according to the coroner's office.
An autopsy was performed on June 11, with preliminary findings listing drowning as the cause of death. Toxicology testing is pending.
The McHenry County Coroner’s Office will determine official cause and manner of death following autopsy and toxicology review.
The investigation is ongoing.
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