OSTEEN, Fla. — A two-year-old boy from Florida is dead after accidentally drowning in a canal, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said in a news release on Facebook.
Deputies had been searching for the boy, who was reported missing around 6 p.m. Saturday on a 10-acre home in the Osteen area, according to the sheriff's office. Around 6:15 p.m., the boy's mother reportedly noticed one of the family's dogs was wet while another was barking near a retention canal.
The boy's mother eventually found him in the water and "rushed in to pull him out," the sheriff's office said. Deputies reportedly performed CPR on the child and he was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
"The initial findings of the investigation indicate he was playing in a fenced backyard with the dogs while his mother kept the back door open and checked on him regularly," deputies stated in the release. "While playing, he was able to open a gate and travel about 300 feet to a canal that was obstructed from view by brush and trees."
The Sheriff's Office said it is sending "sincere condolences" to the family and those who responded to the incident.
