VIDEO. 5-year-old boy with autism saved from drowning in lake by police officer

On Tuesday, August 6, around 8 p.m., a 5-year-old boy with autism was saved from drowning in a lake by a police officer in Deltona, Florida.

More fear than harm for this Florida family. The son, a 5-year-old boy with autistic disorder, escaped drowning, according to BFMTV.

Missing for 20 minutes

The boy disappeared for about twenty minutes. The parents called the police immediately, around 7:30 p.m.

“The boy’s father told sheriff’s deputies that his 5-year-old son escaped from the house through a second door, setting off the alarm,” according to a post from the official Volusia Sheriff’s account.

“I really felt like it was my own child”

In a video, police officer Wes Brough is seen running into the water to find the boy. The child is recovered, soaked from head to toe, but alive.

Let’s hear it for Deputy Wes Brough, who found and rescued a missing 5-year-old child in a pond last night in @CityofDeltonaFL pic.twitter.com/GMdF6MK6rL

— Volusia Sheriff (@VolusiaSheriff) August 7, 2024

The agent explains on the Sheriff’s account: “I have three children, one of whom is five, and I really felt like it was my own child clinging to me.”

The family decided to take steps to better secure the perimeter of their home to prevent a similar situation from happening again.