No Charges Expected In Elwood Toddler's Drowning: Will County Sheriff

JOLIET, IL - The heart-broken family of Traeger Moore has been reeling with grief this week, after the smiling little boy died Saturday afternoon after drowning in his family's backyard pool in Elwood. Traeger was two months shy of turning 2. On Tuesday, Will County Sheriff's spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer indicated that no arrests are anticipated to result from the sheriff's department investigation.

"There is nothing suspicious, and no charges are expected to result," Hoffmeyer told Joliet Patch Tuesday afternoon.

According to Will County police, Traeger's drowning happened around 1:30 p.m. at his family's home on Elwood's Raymond Drive. On Saturday, Traeger's mother was gone so he remained home in the company of his grandparents, Russ and Kathy Farrey. "The boy, Traeger, and the mom lived with her parents," Hoffmeyer said. "She was at work. The grandfather was out in the garage working on his van. The grandma had the little boy in the house. She was in the kitchen."

At some point, the toddler wandered off, and he got outside. "She thought he just went into the other room for a brief time, and when she went to look for him, he was gone," Hoffmeyer said.

Both of the grandparents went outside and searched for Traeger. A few neighbors also helped look. Traeger's grandfather eventually found him in the pool. He was unresponsive. The Elwood Fire Department responded to the scene. Traeger was rushed to Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet. He never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at the emergency room.

In the Elwood backyard, there was a wooden security gate that led to the deck and the above ground swimming pool, Hoffmeyer said.

"He must have climbed over the security gate," she said.

It turns out that Will County also responded last week to a near-drowning of a small child in the New Lenox area, Hoffmeyer said. The child in that particular backyard swimming pool incident was two or three years old, she said. That child was resuscitated at the scene, but taken to Silver Cross Hospital as a precaution.

The child in that incident is expected to make a full recovery, police said.

"With these recent tragedies, people who own pools or are having parties need to be extra mindful of small children and how fast these things can occur," Hoffmeyer stressed.

Traeger's funeral visitation will begin at 3 p.m. Thursday at Tezak's Funeral Home in Joliet. For more information about his funeral services, visit this Patch article.

Image of Traeger Moore via Tezak Funeral Home