CHARLOTTE — A death investigation is underway in east Charlotte after a 3-year-old boy drowned over the weekend, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.
According to authorities, officers were doing a welfare check at about 8 p.m. Saturday along Cuddington Drive, near East W.T. Harris Boulevard. Officers said they had reports of a missing 3-year-old.
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When they arrived, police said they found a child unresponsive in a retention pond in The Reserve at Canyon Hills neighborhood. The 3-year-old was taken to the hospital, where he later died, CMPD said.
“Even when you come into the subdivision, you can see the retention pond, and it’s really big, since it’s on every street, it seems like,” a neighbor said.
Residents told Channel 9′s Erika Jackson that they watched police and firefighters swarm the street Saturday.
“It was a lot of screaming, like crying and screaming, yelling. And it was really hurtful,” a neighbor said. “I was really hurt. I cried. I felt it was like my child, you know. I felt like what could we have done to, you know, to help that child?”
One mom said she is worried another child in the neighborhood could be next. That’s why she’s pushing for change. She wants the community to build a gate around each retention pond in the neighborhood.
“I called the HOA and it just kind of brushed me off, I feel like,” she said. “He said he’s gonna get in touch with the builders, and they will shoot me an email.”
The mom said she hasn’t heard back.
Jackson called the HOA and was transferred to The Reserve at Canyon Hills community manager, but they haven’t returned her message.
The neighbor said she refuses to sit back and wait for another child to fall victim.
“Everyone could speak up and say something and do something about it,” she said.
Police have not said if anyone will face charges related to the case. This is an ongoing investigation.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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