'A terrible tragedy': 8-year-old boy drowned in Morris County creek, officials say
Roxbury and Morris County authorities are investigating the apparent accidental drowning of an 8-year-old boy on Wednesday in a creek in the Flanders section of town.
The boy was found face-down in the stream near a residence, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement Thursday. The office declined to identify the boy or the location of his death, citing the family's privacy.
Police and paramedics were called to the scene at 3:37 p.m. Wednesday but were unable to revive the child, the prosecutor's report stated.
The boy was taken to Saint Clare's Hospital in Dover, where he was pronounced deceased. Authorities did not release the name of the boy "out of consideration for the child’s family," according to the statement from Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll's office.
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Mayor Jim Rilee confirmed the boy's family are Roxbury residents.
"It's a terrible tragedy," Rilee said on Thursday. "All of our hearts and prayers go out to the family and their friends. We'll do everything we can to help them."
Frank Santora, the new Roxbury School District superintendent who just took his post on July 1, posted on social media that the district would provide assistance for "any individual who feels they are in need of further support," referring them to Director of Guidance Monica Mann at 973-584-1200 ext. 1221 or mmann@roxbury.org.
"It is with a heavy heart that we share the devastating news of the loss of one of our elementary students," Santora wrote. "Please keep all those involved in your heart and thoughts at this time."
The incident does not appear to be suspicious, police said, but an investigation is ongoing by the Roxbury Township Police Department, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and the Morris County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit.
Anyone with information about the death was asked to contact Roxbury police at 973-448-2100 or the prosecutor’s office at 973-285-6200.
The apparent drowning occurred in the small portion of the Flanders community that extends over the Mount Olive border. It came a year after Roxbury mourned a similar tragedy in June 2022, when dive teams deployed at Mine Hill Beach recovered the bodies of two young men who drowned on the township side of Sunset Lake.
Those two victims, identified as males ages 17 and 22, "went into the water at the sand pits and never came out," a Morris County Prosecutor's Office spokesperson said at the time.
William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com
Twitter: @wwesthoven
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: 8-year old boy drowned in Roxbury NJ creek, officials say
