3-year-old who drowned in Lake Erie Saturday wandered from relative's house in Harborcreek

Tim Hahn, Erie Times-News
·1 min read

A 3-year-old boy who drowned in Lake Erie Saturday had wandered away from the home of a relative who was babysitting him in Harborcreek Township, according to the Pennsylvania State Police.

Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook identified the boy on Monday as Anthony Rodrigues. He was pronounced dead at UPMC Hamot after members of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission located him in the lake about 120 yards offshore from Northview Drive, where he was last seen, state police reported.

The Pennsylvania State Police are continuing their investigation into the drowning. Erie County District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz said Monday state police have contacted her office and she would be speaking with investigators on Monday.

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State police were initially called to Northview Drive, off East Lake Road, shortly after 5 p.m. Saturday to investigate a report of a missing child. The boy was reportedly at a residence with another child while a relative was babysitting the two children, according to state police.

Troopers were joined by the Fairfield Hose Co., the Fish and Boat Commission, the U.S. Coast Guard and other volunteer agencies in searching the area, including the lake, for the boy.

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Fish and Boat officers who found the boy in the water brought him to the boat launch at Shades Beach, where emergency medical service officials were waiting, according to state police. Life-saving measures were started and the boy was transported to UPMC Hamot, where the boy was pronounced dead at 6:51 p.m. Saturday, troopers reported.

The Erie County Coroner's Office ruled the boy's death as accidental.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Lake Erie drowning: Police claim boy found in lake wandered from home