A 4-year-old Westerly boy drowned in a neighbor's swimming pool, police said.
Police said Monday that no charges have been filed but the investigation continues.
The call first came in Friday morning as a missing child. A woman who lives at 29 Boiling Spring Ave. told police she hadn't seen her 4-year-old son in about 20 minutes.
The officer who arrived first at the scene, got no answer at the front door.
"He went around the back of the house, and he observed into the neighbor's yard at the pool on the deck, two women. One of them being the mother, the other being the neighbor, and this young boy on the deck," Chief Edward Mello said.
It appears they had just pulled the boy from the above-ground pool when the officer found them. The officer jumped into action and started performing CPR until an ambulance arrived.
The boy was pronounced dead a short time later at Westerly Hospital.
"Very sad. Very unfortunate. Devastating, I'm certain, for the family. Very difficult for the neighbors," Mello said.
Investigators are trying to determine how the boy got from his house to the one next door. They also want to know whether the yard with the pool was properly secured.
"Access is really the point of our investigation right now. Whether the neighbor was in compliance with building requirements to have the gate locked, properly secured, types of fencing and those things. We're working with the building official to determine those things at this point," Mello said.
According to town records, Westerly has several requirements for people with pools, among them:
- The pool or property itself must have a wall or fence that is at least 5 feet but no more than 8 feet tall.
- The fence has to be in good condition with a gate and a child-proof latch.
- The pool and any equipment cannot be closer than 15 feet to the rear and sides of the property line.
In addition, Mello said there has to be personal responsibility.
"Always keep a watchful eye on your children. I realize it's difficult. But in literally in a moment, that can change," Mello said, "certainly change everybody's life."
Jim Ritzus of The Pool Source in Cranston said pool owners can install alarms that sound when someone goes in the water. Another type of alarm can be installed on a gate, and locks can be installed on ladders.
He also said owners should keep a pool free of temptations like toys, games and floats that could attract a child to the water.
"The more barriers you put between poeple and the water, the more opportunities you have to keep a tragedy from happening," Ritzus said.
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