3-year-old boy drowns after wandering away from mother at busy apartment complex pool, deputies say

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A 3-year-old boy is dead after the Harris County Sheriff's Office said the child was found unresponsive in a pool at an apartment complex in west Harris County on Monday.

At about 7:23 p.m., deputies were dispatched to the Radius West apartments at 1721 Greenhouse Road in reference to a drowning call.

According to HCSO, the child was with family members in the complex pool when he went underwater.

Investigators said the boy had been in the shallow end but wandered away to the deeper area where older kids were playing. When his mother looked for him, she didn't see him, and that's when another child saw him under the water.

Deputies said about 15 to 20 people were in the pool when the incident took place.

Bystanders immediately pulled the 3-year-old out of the water and started CPR. Unfortunately, the boy did not survive.

"You have to pool-proof your kids. Get them swimming. You have to get them the lessons. You have to make sure if they're not pool-safe, that they're in life jackets," David Crain with HCSO said. "You have to watch them all the time. It has to be a 110% focus on these kiddos because they can slip under."

An investigation into what led up to the boy's death is underway.

NOTE: Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez initially reported that the child was 4 years old, but in a later update from the sheriff's office, officials said he was 3. This article has been updated to reflect that change.