On June 5, 2024, at approximately 5:35 p.m., officers from the New Castle County Division of Police responded to a report of a missing 7-year-old boy in the 100 block of Gabriel Drive, in the Estates of Red Lion.
Witnesses had last seen the child near a neighborhood retention pond. Upon arrival, police officers, along with emergency medical personnel, began a thorough search of the pond, the surrounding woods, and nearby areas.
Following the initial report, Delaware City Fire Company, New Castle County Paramedics, and New Castle County Police Department were dispatched to the scene for a reported drowning. Additional units, including the New Castle County Surface Water Rescue Team and New Castle County Dive Team, were also mobilized based on further information from the caller.
According to Assistant Chief Jeff Sands of Delaware City Fire Company, responders arrived within eight minutes, finding bystanders, including an off-duty firefighter, searching for the child in the pond. Water rescue-trained firefighters immediately began a coordinated search. The search included deploying rescuers in the water, along the shoreline, and using a drone to survey the area from the air.
The victim was found submerged in a deep section of the pond within 30 minutes of the rescuers’ arrival. He was quickly transferred to the care of Emergency Medical Services personnel, where resuscitative efforts were initiated and continued throughout transport to Christiana Hospital. Despite these efforts, the child was later pronounced deceased.
The New Castle County Division of Police Criminal Investigations Unit has taken over the investigation, which remains active and ongoing.