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Last updated on Wednesday, July 16, 2014
(AVON) - A 7-year-old boy died Monday afternoon after being pulled from a retention pond in Avon, despite extreme efforts to save him.
It happened around 3 p.m. in the Wynbrooke subdivision, near County Road 200 North.
At the neighborhood pool with their kids, Jay and Sherri Barrow heard the screaming. It was a child, who said his 7-year-old cousin had disappeared underwater in the retention pond across the way.
Barrow, an off-duty IMPD patrolman who's trained to save lives, didn't hesitate. Neither did neighbors.
"As I stood up, the lifeguard took off running over here to the pond, so I took off running," Barrow said.
"Yeah, there was probably about eight of us in the pond, figure out where he was," his wife Sherri added.
They found the little boy at the bottom of the pond, unresponsive.
Police say the child and his two young cousins, ages 10 and 6, were headed to the playground near the community pool, when they stopped at the pond to explore and find lily pads for their moms.
Somehow, the boy went under.
"We couldn't tell how long he'd been in there, but he wasn't breathing at the time," Barrow explained. "I went in the water, we got him to the bank. I started CPR."
"My heart just goes out to his father. His father immediately started praying and I just knelt down and prayed with him," Sherri Barrow said.
The ambulance ride was detoured by road construction in Avon, but CPR continued all the way to IU West Hospital. The boy couldn't be revived and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
It's a tragic ending rescuers tried so hard to prevent.
"Having kids the same age as the young boy, it's...it's pretty tough," Barrow said.
"It is a very tragic end to the story, however, I feel like what they all did, it gave him a great chance," said Lt. Jim Yetter, Hendricks County Sheriff's Department.
"My heart goes out to them, I mean...awful," Sherri Barrow sighed tearfully.
"I just...I wish we could have done more," Jay Barrow said. "Our hearts and prayers are out for the family for sure."
It's still unclear what caused the little boy to go under the water. Police say retention ponds really can turn dangerous in an instant, even though this one held water that was waist deep for an adult.
The young victim's name will be released once all family members are notified.
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