Family and friends of 11-year-old Klein ISD student who drowned in Cypress Creek step up to help

SPRING, Texas (KTRK) -- Friends and neighbors are banding together to help the family of an 11-year-old who drowned in Cypress Creek on Thursday evening.

Braydin Barlow was a 6th grader at Klein ISD and was active in the local youth football team.

On Thursday afternoon, family members believe he went to ride his bike around the neighborhood with his friends. But soon, word came that Braydin had gone missing in Cypress Creek.

"It broke all of our hearts," said Beau Peska, who runs Slade Shipping and works daily with Braydin's dad. "We're a smaller company and get very close with our employees. We see them every day. When someone's family gets hurt, it affects all of us," Peska said.

Peska has known the family for a decade. He immediately started an online fundraising campaign to ease the financial burden during such a tragedy.

Meanwhile, the family's neighbors have started a meal train, and Klein ISD is offering counselors to other students at Braydin's school.

Still, at this point, it's unclear how Braydin ended up in the creek. Rescuers on Thursday said there was no current, and initial reports say he may have been trying to help a younger child out of the creek. The Harris County Sheriff's Office is now leading the investigation.

"We didn't get any sleep last night," Kenton Glover, who also works with Braydin's father, said. "I know he's a good father because that's all he talks about, his kids. We share little tidbits on fathering and parenting, and it just breaks my heart that something like this can happen to a good family."

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