2-Year-Old and 74-Year-Old Relative Drown in Harris County Pond

A family visit turned into an unimaginable tragedy Sunday evening after a 2-year-old child and a 74-year-old relative died following an apparent drowning at a neighborhood pond in north Harris County, authorities said.

According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded around 6 p.m. to the 900 block of Spring Lakes Haven after receiving a report that an adult and a child had drowned. When first responders arrived, firefighters and EMS crews were performing CPR on the 74-year-old woman near the pond. A short time later, crews located the 2-year-old child in the water, pulled him to shore and immediately began life-saving efforts.

Both victims were transported to nearby hospitals while CPR continued, but despite the efforts of emergency personnel, they were later pronounced dead.

Investigators said the child’s mother had brought her son to visit the elderly relative, who lived in the neighborhood. At some point during the visit, officials said the child became restless, and the relative offered to take him to a nearby park. When an extended period passed without hearing from them, the child’s mother became concerned and began searching the neighborhood herself.

Authorities said the mother arrived at the pond and saw emergency crews attempting to revive her relative. Moments later, she watched as first responders recovered her 2-year-old son from the water and began CPR.

“She is naturally very distraught,” Harris County Sheriff’s Office Major Ben Katrib said. “Our approach is trauma-informed, so we need to allow her the time before we interview her.”

Officials emphasized that the investigation remains in its early stages. Detectives are canvassing the neighborhood for surveillance footage and interviewing potential witnesses to determine exactly what led to the drowning. The child’s mother also told investigators that her son may have been autistic, a detail authorities say is part of the ongoing investigation.

Neighbors described the community as peaceful and expressed shock over the heartbreaking incident. Resident Agha Hussain said he had never seen anything like this happen in the area.

“It’s a very heartbreaking thing,” Hussain said. “Never happened before over here.”

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office has not released the identities of the victims as the investigation continues.