Charlie Newton, a seven-year-old boy's body was discovered on Tuesday morning at around 10 am, hours after he went missing from his home in Deltona. Per WESH, the nonverbal, autistic boy was pulled out from a lake. Reportedly, the boy ran away from their Stillwater Avenue home at around 8 pm on Monday.
Per Click Orlando, one of the neighbors happened upon the body just near his home. The candlelight vigil will be held on Saturday in the backyard of a home located just along West Hartley Circle, not too far from where the body was found. The sheriff's office announced in a Facebook post:
"We are saddened to report that we have recovered Charlie’s body from the water. This is the tragic outcome we all worked so hard hoping would not come to pass. We appreciate all the shares, the community support, and the assistance from all our partner agencies in this effort."
Charlie Newton sped off without shoes from an uninhabitable home
Chris Hallman, one of the family's neighbors, said to Click Orlando:
"Our neighbor here, I decided to give him a call, and he was a little distraught when I spoke with him. He informed me that he actually found the little boy.”
Another neighbor, Mary Behrens, noted that "He looked over, and the little boy was about 20 feet away from him."
Reportedly, Charlie Newton had run away from their vehicle when they reached their home, and the mother called 911 when she couldn't keep up. He ran without shoes, and, at the time of his demise, was clad in a black T-shirt and grey shorts. She said, as reported by WESH:
"My son, he just took off. He's autistic, he's nonverbal. I was coming home with some pizzas, and I didn't hold onto him, and he just took off running."
Officials asserted that Charlie Newton was a fast runner, and that his mother didn't have her glasses on. This meant she couldn't clearly see which direction he headed for. Officers responded to her 911 calls promptly, but it didn't take more than a couple of minutes for the boy to make it to the lake where he drowned.
Per Click Orlando, the Volusia County deputies reported that Charlie Newton's home was uninhabitable. It was riddled with roaches, dirty clothing, and a filthy mattress. The boy's mother and his two siblings were relocated to a nearby hotel.
Per Fox13, Sheriff Mike Chitwood said at a news conference on November 26:
"It's just difficult to look at these young kids and say ‘what can we do? Where have we failed? How is this continually happening?’"
Deltona Mayor Santiago Avila called on the community to stay vigilant, so as to prevent such a tragedy from occurring ever again:
"We need to figure out a way to partner together and figure out how we can give these kids some type of swimming lessons," Avila said. "One is too many. We can't continue to allow this to happen."
Chris Davis, a resident who lives a few houses over from Charlie Newton's, said:
"It’s just heartbreaking that this happened before the holiday season. The community came together. Great support number one, to look for a child that’s not even theirs.”
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Sheriff Mike Chitwood divulged that a community campaign is currently in the works, one that will equip families with the tools and help they need to circumvent such a tragedy in the future.
Mayor Santiago Avila of Deltona, on the other hand, urged all parents to purchase Apple's AirTag, a tracking device. He noted that while nothing could be done for Charlie, it is possible to track other children and families with special needs.
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