Three-Year-Old Drowns; Police Say He Walked Alone for a Mile

A three-year-old boy tragically drowned on Sunday near the St Peter Claver R.C. School in Punta Gorda.

Police say Asher Mejia left his home around 11:00 a.m., and his parents believed he had accompanied siblings to a nearby store. When the siblings returned without him, the family realised he was missing. Efforts to locate the child ended when he was found in the sea.

A passerby attempted CPR before police arrived and rushed Mejia to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

ASP Stacy Smith said the child had wandered nearly a mile from his home. “This suggests that there was for a considerable period of time this child walking on the street, and that for me presented an opportunity for persons to have intercepted him and done the needful,” Smith said.

Police investigations revealed that Mejia had previously been reported missing three days earlier after wandering away from home. According to Smith, on this occasion, his parents delayed reporting, believing he might have repeated the behaviour.

Authorities have taken statements and will forward them to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for guidance on possible negligence charges.