SIMPSONVILLE, SC — An 8-year-old student was found dead in a pond after running away from his classroom Thursday at a South Carolina elementary school, authorities said.
Lionel Ramirez Cervantes was in a classroom with two other students and three school employees when he ran out into the hall, outside the building and then over or through a fence and into a field of tall grass where he could no longer be seen, Greenville County Schools say in a statement.
Police were immediately called and officers, school officials and community members began searching. Divers found Lionel’s body about four hours later in a neighborhood pond about 1,000 feet (300 meters) from Bell’s Crossing Elementary in Simpsonville, authorities said.
“A lot of broken hearts in that school and community today,” Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis said at a news conference.
Before the boy’s body was found, deputies released information that he may have autism or another developmental disability and may not respond to regular verbal prompts.
The deputy and school officials are investigating exactly what happened and how the child got off school grounds but stressed that staff responded quickly and attempted to apprehend him.
“This was our worst fear today, and we are grieving as a community. We are devastated to lose one of our children. We will bond with the support of the district,” Bell’s Crossing Elementary School Principal Chris Ross said in a statement.
The school was open last Friday and grief counselors were brought in for students and teachers. The district also said it provided all the support Lionel’s family needs.
An autopsy Friday determined the boy drowned and ruled the death an accident, according to the Greenville County Coroner’s Office.