DAYTONA BEACH SHORES -- The drowning of a 2-year-old boy in a hotel pool on this Fourth of July holiday is tragic enough if it weren't for the sad fact that he has become the seventh small child to drown so far this year in Volusia County.
Police responded to a 12:15 p.m. 9-1-1 call of a child drowning in the outdoor pool at the Oceanside Inn, 1909 S. Atlantic Ave. The toddler, whose name was not released, was pronounced dead on arrival at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach.
"The child went unnoticed under water for nine minutes," Sgt. Mike Fowler said, the time calculated by police in reviewing video surveillance of the pool deck area. Fowler said several family members were with the boy, but added he was unable to provide any further details as to who was actually watching the child, if anyone.
"All I can tell you at this point is surveillance video showed he was under water for nine minutes," said Fowler, the department's spokesman, who was not on duty and received information second hand for media inquiries.
Fowler, whose youngest childest is 4, said of this seventh drowning, "It's certainly a tragic story. A sad ending to the holiday weekend."
NSBNews.net reached out to Daytona Beach Shores Mayor Harry Jennings for his reaction to the holiday tragedy and the mounting death toll of little ones.
"It's awful, just awful, terribly upsetting," said the 72-year-old city leader elected in November. Nobody likes to lose a child no matter what their age is."
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