Found Deceased SC - Jayden Morrison, 4, Little River, 24 Dec 2014

[Gypsy Road]

Oh gosh my heart breaks for this family - especially the grandmother. Just horrible. So sad and so tragic. Wee little ones can wonder off in a split second and go far - this happened in my family a couple of years ago. It wasn't my child, but a family members child. He was also two years old and wondered off and fell in a neighbor's swimming pool while the nanny was tending to his twin sister in the bathroom. He didn't survive I know this family's grief is immense. My prayers are with all of them. RIP Jayden.

 

[RR0004]

I found the grandmother's name. According to this article she is Carolyn Sumpter.



The article is long and is worth a read.

http://www.thestate.com/2014/12/25/3893531/residents-emergency-crews-search.html

Wow! What an amazing response. G-d bless them all.

 

[michmi]

I'm just getting to this thread, but wanted to respond to this as we see many autistic children missing then found dead, many times in water.

Children with autism seek out sensory input in order to compensate for the sensory overload that they constantly experience. The pressure of the water on their bodies is very soothing. My son (with autism) will typically go into the water until only his mouth and up is out of the water. He'll just stand there, but if he lost his footing, he'd be underwater w/no one to save him. He absolutely loves the water in any form, swimming, bath time, sprinklers, splash parks, etc. He, like many children with autism, have no fear nor awareness of danger.

This past weekend we took the kiddos swimming in a rec center with an indoor pool, but when we told my son we were going swimming, he put on his swimming suit and headed out the back door despite it being 10 degrees. He doesn't care how cold it is, he loves swimming, the fact that it was cold out would not have discouraged him from climbing into an outdoor pool.

These cases terrify me.

Thank you so much for explaining the water, I have always wondered why water was so attractive.

This case is just really heartbreaking, RIP little guy and prayers for peace to his family.

 

[CarolinaAsh]

Thank you for sharing this. It is a must read. By all accounts Jayden's family is well known and loved in this community.

From your link, Skittles:

(snip)

Everybody knows [Sumpter] here and she’s one of the best people you can meet.”


I hope the neighbors continue to show them their support. They certainly did in the search effort (with folks showing up all the way from NC!). If this community continues to show the family their love, it will make a huge difference. I hope they do!

:candle:


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Well in fairness NC is literally 5 minutes from where he went missing. But yes, and to me more impressive are the people who travelled from the area where Heather went missing because that's a good half hour or more drive. Especially on a holiday? I'm also heartened by the fact the dad came straight away. What worried me is while the community here is supportive, what happens when mom, dad and siblings return to NY? I'm hopeful they have a strong community there too. I'm praying for the whole family, especially grandma, and his twin.

 

[RT51]

My heart breaks for Grandma! I'm a grandmother too, to a 3 year old and a 1 year old. I am so watchful when I have them because God forbid anything happens to them on my watch. If something were ever to happen, my heart would break twice. Once for me and my loss, and a 2nd time for the breaking of my child's heart at the loss of their child.

 

[kimi_SFC]

Well in fairness NC is literally 5 minutes from where he went missing. But yes, and to me more impressive are the people who travelled from the area where Heather went missing because that's a good half hour or more drive. Especially on a holiday? I'm also heartened by the fact the dad came straight away. What worried me is while the community here is supportive, what happens when mom, dad and siblings return to NY? I'm hopeful they have a strong community there too. I'm praying for the whole family, especially grandma, and his twin.

That's so true CarolinaAsh

I haven't read the stories in the NY media either and can only hope the entire family has the support they will need over the long haul.

This has been a really rough week.

:tears:


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[greycoupon]

So tragic. It sounded from the article posted like his mom may not have closed/latched the front door properly when she left, (not blaming her at all) and he slipped out after her. The guilt they are dealing with has got to be awful. I hope the whole family will be able to grief counseling to deal with this.

 

[TripleA]

Heartbreaking. RIP Jayden.

 

[Skittles]

Entire neighborhood mourns the loss of Jayden Morrison:

http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/27713447/entire-neighborhood-mourns-the-loss-of-jayden-morrison

Autistic boy found dead in S.C. to be laid to rest in White Plains

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/2014/12/27/missing-autistic-boy-found-dead-body-return-ny/20956171/

 

[ontheclock]

Awww, how sad. My son had a near death experience while under my sisters watch. We can barely talk about it to this day. Her guilt is far greater than my disgust. Accidents happen. I feel so lucky.

 

[katydid23]

Awww, how sad. My son had a near death experience while under my sisters watch. We can barely talk about it to this day. Her guilt is far greater than my disgust. Accidents happen. I feel so lucky.

For EVERYONE who has kids or has watched kids : There But For The Grace Of God Go I. :rose:

 

[MzOpinion8d]

My son is high functioning on the autism spectrum, and truly "there but for the grace of God go I" is so so accurate. We had a backyard above ground swimming pool for at least two summers and also lived next to a community pool at our next house. I feared the water out of caution in general but never knew how much risk it presented to my son. I am so grateful that no harm ever came to him because it easily could have.

ETA He's 16 now, and we no longer live close to any dangerous water areas. Next summer will be time for Driver's Ed...a whole new kind of scary lol!

 

[Tssiemer]

I wonder if he had a history of eloping. I wonder if grandma had watched him before and had experience with him. I'm not blaming the family but I mean, kids with special needs need extra care. Was it smart for mom to leave Jayden and go to the store? Probably not. But no one could foresee this I guess.
I don't now. MOO.


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[Wolf Dreamer]

Been away over Christmas but saw this; first thing I said was to look in any water. So very sad.

 

[Ontario Mom]

I wonder if he had a history of eloping. I wonder if grandma had watched him before and had experience with him. I'm not blaming the family but I mean, kids with special needs need extra care. Was it smart for mom to leave Jayden and go to the store? Probably not. But no one could foresee this I guess.
I don't now. MOO.


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Over the last little while, I've learned 10x more about kids on the autism spectrum via WS than I ever knew before, and I honestly thought I had a pretty good understanding of it. That said, I wonder how much either mom or gma understood about this? Did they know about eloping? Did they know about water danger? Did they know about sensory over-stimulation? Maybe they did, but more than likely they didn't. Maybe mom didn't stress enough to grandma, the things to be especially mindful of because she may not have known, herself? There are many here who know A LOT about it and I appreciate greatly all the wisdom they've shared, but we shouldn't be so quick to assume all parents of autistic kids (wherever they are on the spectrum) and/or caregivers, grandparents, etc., know as much about it as the folks here. OR, that their own doctors have even shared with them the same wisdom folks here on the forum have generously shared. Not all doctors agree on all things and this is definitely one of them.

Just thinking outloud and entirely MOO.

 

[Redux]

Just adding a follow up article I came across.

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/article16698170.html

 

[0101ABA]

For the family of a boy with autism, the holidays will forever be a reminder of their loss.

But two years after Jayden Morrison's death, his memory lives on by offering protection to other children with autism.

The 4-year-old went missing in Little River on Christmas Eve in 2014. His body was found in a pond three days later.

Morrison's story inspired a complete stranger, Deanna Douglas- Jackson, to create the Jayden Morrison Project to raise autism awareness.

http://m.wmbfnews.com/wmbfnews/db_346947/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=mj3Mve3I