PASCO COUNTY, Fla (WSVN) — Pasco County deputies raced to rescue a missing nonverbal child with autism from a dangerous waterway, but when they arrived, they found the child’s 17-year-old brother already in the water, courageously trying to bring her back to safety.
Monday afternoon, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office received an emergency call about a missing nonverbal child with autism in Port Richey.
Witnesses tipped off deputies that a 5-year-old was trapped in a lake.
“She’s in the water,” someone said.
“She’s in the water?” a deputy asked as he started running in the direction of the lake.
When the deputy arrived, much to his surprise, he learned that the child’s 17-year-old brother had already gone into the water.
“Hey, can you bring her this way?” asked the deputy.
“I’m trying. There’s too many branches, and she doesn’t want to move, come on,” the teen replied.
The young girl didn’t seem too keen on leaving as she kept clinging to branches.
“Hold onto that branch. This is funny to you?” the deputy said to the girl as she laughed.
“Come on, come on, go ahead, pull her, pull her, pull her,” the deputy said as he coached the teen.
“Jade, come on, let go. Come on, Jade, come here,” the teen said as he tried to pry the child from the branches.
Eventually the young girl gave in.
“I got her, I got her,” the teen said.
As the little girl clung to her brother, the deputy slowly helped bring them both back to land.
On social media, the sheriff’s office reminded people about the SafetyNet Tracking program for people prone to wandering. It allows people to register a loved one and get a bracelet that can be tracked by law enforcement.
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