5-year-old wanders from grandma’s house and drowns in neighbor’s pool, Texas family says

A 5-year-old Texas boy with autism died days after he was found motionless in a neighbor’s pool, the child’s family told news outlets.

In mid-March, Jeremiah Turner and his family were visiting his grandmother’s home in Atascosa, near San Antonio, when the boy suddenly went missing, his mother Christie Lyons told WOAI.

He had been playing in his grandma’s backyard with his siblings just moments earlier, she told the station. While the adults were distracted, trying to fix their car, Jeremiah wandered off, spurring a frenzied search by family members, Lyons said.

“He was autistic and he loved to play. He loved to explore everywhere,” Lyons told KENS. “He was really beautiful. He lit up the world.”

Within minutes, his grandmother found him in her neighbor’s pool. Lyons says a gate was left open, allowing Jeremiah to walk right in, the outlet reported.

“We took him to the hospital, got his heartbeat back. They lost it. They got it back again,” she told the outlet. “They had no hope in Jeremiah. We believe in God. We’re very faithful and we said, ‘Jeremiah’s got this. He’s a strong little boy.’”

Jeremiah was put on life support, according to a Gofundme page set up for the family.

But after four days, Jeremiah died in the hospital, WOAI reported.

“Too beautiful and pure for this world,” Lyons said in a March 23 Facebook post. “I miss my baby boy like crazy. I don’t want anything but to hear his laughter and feel his hugs again.”

Funeral services for the boy are scheduled for March 29 and 30, according to the family.

Atascosa is a roughly 22-mile drive southwest of downtown San Antonio.

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