A 4-year-old child is alive and recovering at an Ohio hospital after he was found unresponsive in a pond on Saturday by three police officers.
The incident occurred in Painesville, roughly 30 miles northeast of Cleveland. A family reported their child missing around 7:40 a.m. Over 30 minutes after the report, authorities received a call of a possible floating body in pond near the family’s home, according to a post on the police department’s Facebook page.
Officers arrived at a fishing pond at Painesville’s Recreation Park and initially didn’t see anything but debris. Soon after, officers Daniel Thompson and Matthew Tycast saw air bubbles and the silhouette of a body. They jumped into the water while a third officer, Chad Balausky, went to get a rope to bring the child to land, according to the police department.
The child, who was not breathing at the time, was brought back on shore. One officer began to perform CPR while another attempted to clear the boy’s airways. Soon after the officers noticed the child was breathing on his own.
Footage of the officer’s rescue of the boy was captured by dashcam and was released by the Painesville Police Department.
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The officers stayed with the boy until the city’s fire department arrived on the scene and took the child to a local hospital. The department said the boy is expected to make a full recovery.
“The Painesville Police Department is proud of the responding officers for their courageous actions and lifesaving efforts. We sincerely hope the child has a full and speedy recovery,” the department said.
Authorities say the incident is still an active investigation, but believe the child went missing after leaving a family member’s home through a sliding door and entered the nearby park through a closed rear exit.
Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jord_mendoza.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ohio police rescue 4-year-old boy found floating in park pond
