Body of child recovered from nearby pond

Historic City News editor Michael Gold was on the scene around 4:30 p.m. this afternoon as the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call from a mother reporting that her three year-old boy was missing.

The boy’s mother reportedly awoke from a nap and discovered the child was not in the residence.

Deputies responded to Whispering Woods; the multi-family apartment complex located off of SR-207.

“I was at Cobblestone Shopping Center and noticed the Air One helicopter first,” Gold reported. “Then my wife and I heard the sirens and saw law enforcement officers arriving at the apartments.”

Officers began a search for the child in vehicles and on foot as well as utilizing K-9 units dispatched into the area. A recorded “alert message” providing the child’s description was broadcast by telephone to residents in the area.

K-9 Kahlua tracked to the edge of a pond located near the complex, where a child’s shoe was located. A member of the Sheriff’s Office dive team entered the pond and began an underwater search.

The child was located beneath the surface of the water a short distance from the shore and was brought to land where St. Johns County Fire-Rescue began CPR and advanced life-saving measures.

After a period of time, rescue attempts were halted and the child, identified as 3 year-old Mark D. Moore, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Homicide detectives arrived to process the scene along with Crime Scene Investigators and staff from the Medical Examiner’s Office. The official cause of death will be determined after completion of the autopsy examination.

Photo credits: © 2010 Historic City News staff photographer