Two Daytona Beach brothers, Elijah, 5, and Kashh, 3, were found dead in a retention pond near their apartment complex on Saturday, Oct. 10, just hours after police asked the public to help find them.
The Daytona Beach Police Department said the boys were last seen on foot near 1361 North Clyde Morris Boulevard. A dive team later recovered both children from the water.
Police Chief Jakari Young said the boys’ single mother fed them that afternoon and then lay down for a short nap. “She woke up approximately 15 minutes later, and the kids, as well as the family dog, had gotten out of the apartment,” Young said.
The door was locked. Young said the mother had a child safety lock in place, but the boys “figured out how to navigate that child safety lock” and walked out.
Surveillance video obtained by investigators shows the Daytona Beach brothers running near the pond before going into the water. Their mother can be seen on the footage coming outside moments later.
Young described it as “your greatest nightmare,” a parent losing both children that way. He said the evidence points to an accidental drowning, and investigators found no signs of foul play. The case has been referred to the state attorney’s office for review.
Young also shared that Elijah was autistic and noted that many children with autism are drawn to water. “So we have to look out for our most vulnerable individuals in our community,” he said.
Wandering is common among autistic children, and doctors and advocates have a name for it: elopement. A child can leave a safe space suddenly and quietly, often heading straight for whatever has caught their attention. Water is one of the strongest pulls. The National Autism Association has found that accidental drowning accounts for the overwhelming majority of deaths among autistic children who wander.
Retention ponds make that danger part of everyday life in Florida. These are stormwater ponds, basins dug to collect rainwater runoff, and they sit beside apartment complexes, shopping centers and neighborhoods all over the state. Many have no fence. The surface can look calm and shallow, but the banks often drop off steeply and the water is murky, which makes it hard for a small child to climb out and hard for anyone to spot them.
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 in the United States, and Florida loses more children in that age group to drowning than any other state. The deaths of the Daytona Beach brothers have community members calling for stronger safety measures around the water near where families live.
Safety experts recommend layering protection instead of relying on a single lock. That means door alarms or chimes that sound when a door opens, locks mounted high and out of a child’s reach, and swim lessons, including programs built specifically for autistic children. Many police departments also let families register a child who tends to wander, so officers have a photo and key details ready the moment that child goes missing.
The Daytona Beach Police Department has asked the public to respect the family’s privacy and said it will not make further statements while the investigation continues.
