CONROE, Texas – Small footprints were visible around a pond where two boys drowned Thursday evening in Montgomery County, according to investigators.
What happened?
Authorities said they responded to a call about a missing child around 6 p.m. on Wigginsville Road near Dewberry Lane near Conroe.
When they arrived, neighbors had found a 5-year-old child who was wet and cut up and thought he was the missing child, deputies said.
About half an hour later, deputies said a woman showed up looking for children and that’s when authorities realized there were still two boys missing, so they started searching the pond.
One of the boys was found almost as soon as deputies started searching, authorities said. The second child was found shortly after the first, deputies said.
Paramedics performed CPR on the boys, ages 3 and 4, for nearly an hour, according to Chief Raymond Flannelly, with the Caney Creek Fire Department, but they could not be revived.
"The crews out here treated this scene like it was their own family," Flannelly said. "They worked on those boys for at least 45 minutes."
One neighbor who did not want to be identified said the boys live about a third of a mile away from the pond.
What are officials saying?
Authorities are still working to determine how the children were able to get out and get to the pond.
"We have a lot to sift through, a lot of witnesses to talk to that are obviously very emotional due to the losses that have occurred," said Lt. Scott Spencer with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. "We have a lot of distraught people. We have some deputies that have seen some things, that have done some stuff that have upset them so we're just processing it, taking our time and trying to get to the answers of the many other questions we all have."
Other neighbors said the 5-year-old boy was found about a half-mile from home walking alone Monday.
Another has also been found running naked through the neighborhood, neighbors said.
Investigators have not said who was supposed to be supervising the boys. Their identities have not yet been released.
What's next?
Child Protective Services is also investigating the case, which is standard protocol in child fatalities. CPS said it wouldn't go into detail, but said there was an incident involving the two children back in August 2018.