An 8-year-old boy was discovered face down in a Broward County swimming pool, where officers made a desperate attempt to save him while responding to a 911 call from the homeowner Monday evening. Days later, Ft. Lauderdale police are investigating the circumstances surrounding his tragic death – including how and why he ended up in the backyard and pool.
The homeowner, who lives in the 1000 block of Northwest 4th Avenue, called after waking up from a nap around 6:30 p.m. He saw a pair of children’s shoes near the pool and saw Ryan Amichette underwater, according to an audio clip. released by police on Wednesday.
“I’ve never seen him before,” said the homeowner, whom police have not named, when the dispatcher asked him if he knew Ryan. ‘We’ve never had a lost child here. I see that his clothes are here by the fence, and his shoes are by the pool, and he’s floating at the bottom, looking at the bottom.’
Sirens could be heard in the background as the man spoke to 911 dispatchers. Moments later, he said officers arrived, jumped into the pool, pulled Ryan out and began life-saving measures.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue rushed the child to Broward Health Medical Center, where police spokeswoman Casey Liening said doctors pronounced him dead.
“Based on the information investigators have gathered thus far, this incident appears to have been an accident,” Liening said in a statement. This investigation remains ongoing to determine the circumstances, including why the boy entered the backyard and pool.”
Fort Lauderdale police did not immediately respond to questions about where Ryan lived.
Ryan’s older brother, Gibson Severe, told WSVN 7 on Monday that their mother paid a babysitter to pick up the boy and watch over him after school. But when she saw him walking down the street with friends, he added, she turned away.
After his brother didn’t come home from school, Severe told the station that he and other family members searched all over town for him.
Noticing a large number of police officers and first responders in the area, he asked an officer if they had located a lost child.
“And then the police said, ‘We just found a little boy in the pool.’” Severe told WSVN.
