Child With Autism Drowns In Chester County

KENNETT TOWNSHIP, PA — A child with autism drowned in Chester County last week, police announced on Monday.

The incident occurred on the 600 block of Chandler Mill Road in Kennett Township on Wednesday, April 24 at around 2:46 p.m.

The five-year-old boy had gone missing from his home, police said, and authorities fanned out over the neighborhood and a large, wooded area to search for him.

Authorities had called for backup to help search but before it arrived, the boy was found face down in a pond on a neighbor's property.

First responders performed CPR on the grass and life saving measures continued as the boy was taken to A.I. Dupont Hospital in Delaware, authorities said. However, the boy was declared dead at the hospital.

Chester County Detectives and Kennett Township Police said that they are continuing to investigate "all the facts" leading up to the incident.