‘It just breaks my heart’: Neighbor reacts to death of 5-year-old
The pond where the 5-year-old was recovered from.
By Paige Meyer
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Alabama (WAAY) — People in a Harvest neighborhood leaning on one another following the death of a 5-year-old boy. Authorities found the child in a pond on Loganberry Lane Sunday night. He later died at the hospital.
A neighbor says the entire neighborhood was out looking for the little boy when they heard he went missing.
“They showed up, and they showed out. They got their flashlights because it started getting dark and they were looking, it was amazing,” Demetra Bowie-Robinson said. “But it didn’t save the kid’s life and that’s what’s so hurting.”
She says nothing like this has ever happened in the almost 20 years she’s been in the Woodridge Phase II neighborhood. With a 5-year-old granddaughter herself, Bowie Robinson says she is heartbroken for the family.
“I thought about my granddaughter, I thought about the little young child, and I thought, ‘Oh my God, that poor baby. It just breaks my heart,’” Bowie-Robinson said.
The grandmother says the pond is shared by several neighbors and covered in overgrown plants and algae. She says if the water was clear, last night might have ended differently.
“I just keep thinking if it was cleaned up, somebody probably would’ve seen something and been able to save him a lot quicker,” Bowie-Robinson said.
Bowie-Robinson said she looked into getting the pond cleaned in the past but found it would cost nearly $10,000 to fix, not including the upkeep.
She’s been in contact with her district leaders about the pond. She hopes the city can help clean up the water so this doesn’t happen to anyone else’s family.
As far as how the little boy ended up in the water, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the incident.
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