Autistic Child Drowns in Horse Trough

BROOKSVILLE – A Brooksville family is grieving the loss of a young child today, after an 8-year-old autistic boy drowned while his parents slept.

During an unrelated press conference at the Hernando County Sheriff's Office today, reporters asked a spokesperson to provide details into rumors of the tragedy.

Denise Moloney explained that a family had recently moved to an address on Orchard Peach Road, where the previous owners raised horses. The property has a large horse trough that is about 75'x10' and was filled with about two feet of water.

Officials say the parents bought their son a small swimming pool on Saturday, because he had shown interested in going swimming. That night, the family fell asleep watching television and awoke around 3:30 a.m. to find their son missing.

The parents immediately began searching the property and found the boy's clothes on the ground. Soon after, the boy was found unresponsive in the horse trough.

Our sources say Sheriff's Deputies arrived on scene and began administering CPR. The child was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

The family has asked for privacy during this time of grieving.