Toddler drowns while looking for lost puppy

A tragic tale from north Harris County yesterday: A 2-year-old boy drowned in a retention pond near his home while he was apparently searching for a lost puppy. Police believe the boy, Darius Allen, sneaked out of the house — where he was being watched by two siblings, aged 7 and 11, while their parents were at work — and followed the dog through an empty, unfenced lot before he fell into the pond. According to KTRK, Allen's 11-year-old sister realized the boy was missing while she was on the phone with her mother to tell her they couldn't find the puppy. Authorities said the boy was reported missing after no one had seen him for about an hour, the Chronicle reports.

Sheriff's deputies showed up and searched the area until they found Allen in the pond shortly after 10 a.m. The family, as you'd expect, didn't take the news well. Sheila Henry, Allen's grandmother, heard the news from the boy's mother: "She was hysterical," Henry said. "She said, 'Darius is dead.' I said, 'Are you sure?' She said, 'Yes.' I said, 'What happened?' And she said, 'He drowned in the lake.'"

It's not clear — or hasn't been reported — how Allen got out of the house (though police told Channel 13 they think he might have gone through an opening in the garage) or why his parents left him in the care of two other children during the day. Investigators are reportedly notifying CPS about the situation and will talk with the Harris County DA's office to decide whether charges should be filed against the parents.

Turns out the last few days have been full of drownings and near-drownings involving kids in the area: Yesterday, a 3-year-old boy was saved from drowning in a swimming pool and taken to a hospital in Tomball, and this weekend, a brother and sister drowned in Oyster Creek and a 10-year-old boy drowned while wading near San Luis Pass. Nine child drownings have been reported in the area so far this year — and though that seems like a lot, it's less than the 14 that had been reported by this point in 2006. A total of 27 juveniles drowned in the area last year, Harris County CPS told the Chronicle.