DELTONA, Fla. (WSVN)– Volusia County Deputies found a child wandering in water alone and his parents were nowhere to be found.
The four-year-old boy was found alone in a retention pond Saturday, after detectives said he wandered away from a home in a Deltona neighborhood..
“The child did not appear to be in distress, I don’t know if it realized the severity of the situation,” said Volusia County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Peter Carelli. “It looked like the parent was sleeping, the child accessed the door, was able to get out on its own, broke free from the front door and then end up going down the street and into the pond.”
Deputies heard the 911 call and rushed over.
“I’m on Gainesville Drive and there’s a little kid, running around in a diaper by the retention pond,” said a 911 caller.
“Having that technology that the Sheriff brought in is just huge for us because in our job, seconds count. It’s the difference between life and death at some times,” said Carelli.
After he was rescued, detectives stopped by the little boy’s home, where they said they found a neglected dog in a cage as well as mold, roaches and dog waste all over.
“Any reasonable person would say, this is unacceptable, we need to clean up the house, we need make sure this is taken care of,” said Carelli.
Both his parents, Jenexia Rodriguez-Crespo and Fermin Medrano-Perez were arrested, charged with child neglect and animal cruelty.
They are now being held without bond.
Officials said the child is now in the care of a grandparent as the Florida Department of Children and Families investigates.
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