Found Deceased CO - David Puckett, 6, Aurora, 31 Dec 2016

[eekasaur]

I am going to contact the city to see what we need to do to get a fence built. There was one sign advising to keep off the ice but it was tiny and maybe 6 feet in the air. It wasn't lit up or anything. A kid wouldn't see that. Hell, I almost didn't see it. Even just a small fence, like a picket fence maybe. It doesn't have to ruin the ambience but kids would run into it or be warned by their parents not to go on the other side of it. I feel like something should be done in remembrance but also to further ensure safety.

I'm a first grade teacher...my students are all six years old (a few seven year olds who have had their birthdays pass, but most are still six). I don't see what the sign says, and I also don't know the reading ability of David. However, many of my students would have troubles reading a sign that tells them to keep off of the ice...and if they COULD read the words, they might not fully comprehend what that means and be able to connect it with the situation (for instance, would they connect the idea that the pond was frozen and that is the ice that is being referred to? Or does the sign say keep out of the pond, but the pond was frozen, so a child might think that it's not considered a pond anymore?). Just my thoughts, knowing this age group.

I feel so bad about this case. I have a soft spot for kiddos, as many of us here do

 

[SerenitySprings]

Those are good points, eekasaur. I'm glad you shared your experience because when I saw that sign last night I knew it wouldn't have deterred many children. Our car light lit it up and I think that's the only reason I saw it. If it was daytime I probably wouldn't have noticed it.

As far as your specialized knowledge, do you know why some kids wander and some don't? I was not a wanderer as a child, mostly because you would be able to find me in about 3 seconds flat - go where the books are. Once I wandered to our church that was a little less than a mile away because my dad was the preacher and I knew it would be unlocked and I wanted to mess around on one of the pianos. I was probably between 12-13. I knew I'd get in trouble but had no idea that my mother would completely freak out.

My son was a wanderer though. One time when he was between 5-8, he wandered away from my parent's house in the country and got several miles away before he realized he'd gone a lot farther than he should have. He went under a barbed wire fence and ripped up his shirt, through several creeks, across fields that were farmed, even across a cow pasture. Somebody with a farm house out there recognized him and called my mom. I was at work so knew nothing about it until I went over there to pick him up.

He has no fear though, even to this day. He's 20 now, almost 21. He's quite the little adventurer still.


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[FunkyMonkey]

Another First Grade Teacher here. I don't think a sign would have made a bit of difference for this little guy. From my experience with kids who are runners, they don't tend to be rule followers either. If anything, sneaking onto the forbidden pond might even be purposeful for excitement (not realizing the full dangers). Poor little guy.

 

[eekasaur]

I had been following this thread for a few days now, and when I saw you posted about the sign, I started thinking. It's kind of like how some kids will think of bacon and they KNOW it's from a pig (or maybe even they don't), but they don't consider it a pig. Kids are VERY literal, especially at this age. Same with the pond/ice scenario, I'd think (again, depending on his level of cognition). (Fun side story...last year one of my students gave a few great answers out loud to the class and I said, "STUDENT, you're on FIRE today!" My first graders looked around, confused, and then one asked if we were having a fire drill. Hah! This is only my second year in first grade, I was teaching fourth graders (9 year olds) before...)

As far as the wanderers in this age range, I've had a few different types. One of my little ones this year wandered in the beginning of the year because he didn't like the more advanced school activities he had to do...the harder math, the more complicated writing, etc. He'd just stay hiding in the bathroom until after I brought the kids in from recess and then start wandering around after the playground was empty. He also would wander away from the after school program because he didn't like it there (he missed his family). I've got another kiddo who wanders because his family doesn't ever stop him from wandering at home. He's allowed to just come and go as he pleases, which of course, doesn't work well in the classroom environment. We're still working on having him tell me when he needs to leave the classroom to go use the restroom, get something from his backpack, etc. I have yet another wanderer who has some mental cognition challenges. He's rather slow at cleaning and packing up (he gets really distracted) and will often be my last one out of the room to go to recess, lunch, etc. So distraction would be another source I might cite. I had a few kids last year who would always stay on the field after the recess bell went off...they were so involved in playing that they just weren't paying attention to their surroundings. It really depends on the child. I wish we could get more insight on David and how he was as a child...it might give us some clues.

 

[SerenitySprings]

A memorial fund has been set up in David Puckett's honor. If you are so inclined, I'm sure the family appreciates anything you can give to make this tragic time in their lives a little more bearable.

The David Puckett Memorial Fund
Space Age Federal Credit Union
Account No. 84527
3005 South Parker Road #C-300
Aurora, CO 80014

https://www.google.com/amp/kdvr.com...avid-puckett-memorial-fund/amp/?client=safari


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[Eloise]

I'm not a parent so maybe I see it differently, but I have seen a fair bit of what I would call "parent-shaming" on here. It's usually disguised as "making myself feel better", though - "I'd never let my kid do that", "I'd never do that with my kids".

Whatever was happening prior to David's death is to be determined, but even if charges are made, comments like that add nothing to "sleuthing", and serve only to make people feel better/safer about themselves.

I actually think that parents "shame" other parents to make themselves feel better. If you can make it 100% the fault of the parents in that situation, then you feel comfort that it won't ever happen to you. It cushions you from having to face the reality that all the bad stuff can indeed happen to you just like it can them. I think that's true of all victim blaming, really. I think it's always about deflection and denial that it could happen to you.

I think you can only truly stop victim blaming if you completely accept that nobody has as much control over our lives and the universe as we like to believe we do. Hard though, as I think it's just normal human psychology to blame others.

 

[JeannaT]

The fountains were on when he entered the pond. His body was partially pulled into one of the pumps. They turned the fountains off at some point but I'm not exactly sure when but last Saturday they were on.


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It's really a little surprising that a municipality didn't recognize the danger here. As I understand it, the fountain had pretty lights? And the fountain kept the water around it from freezing, where the rest of the pond was frozen?

So really. An unsupervised child (or impaired adult, or really an adventuresome adult) could walk up to look closer at the fountain and lights and suddenly the ice would give way and they would be so far from the edge of the pond that they'd face certain death.

Hmm. Nobody saw this as a disaster waiting to happen?

I'm remembering something from many years ago. It was a church camp outing for African American children, where they went to a park in the dead of summer when it was blazing hot, and there was a water feature there that if you got in it, you couldn't get back out. It was decorative only - it was DEEP, and if you even walked along the edge and lost your balance, you would drown because there wasn't a way to get back out. Anyone else remember this? Many of the children drowned.

This case reminds me of that. Putting a feature that keeps the center of the pond from freezing, where the rest of the pond freezes, and then light up that feature with pretty lights. ???? That would be beautiful in the summer, but turn it off in the winter when it's a death trap.

 

[SerenitySprings]

Man, I don't know. But somebody should have known what a danger it posed. Last night was my first time at this particular park so I wasn't really too focused on anything but the memorial.

I don't have kids at home anymore so that's why I want to be involved in getting the fence put up. It's something I can hopefully give back to the community to sort of pay back everything my son put them through.


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[cvaldez1975]

I understand. We are only able to discuss msm and known facts here so I'll leave it at that.

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I didn't know there was other knowledge. I will wait and see.


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[KaaBoom]

Man, I don't know. But somebody should have known what a danger it posed. Last night was my first time at this particular park so I wasn't really too focused on anything but the memorial.

I don't have kids at home anymore so that's why I want to be involved in getting the fence put up. It's something I can hopefully give back to the community to sort of pay back everything my son put them through.

You can't put a fence around every possible danger, a kid might run into. I think it would be incredibly sad to put a fence around a public park to keep kids out.

I also think that plan is likely to backfire. Keeping the kids out of the park would likely increase, not decrease the danger to them. I'm pretty sure that statistically, kids are more likely to get hurt by traffic on the street, then falling through ice into a fountain in a city park.

Trying to make things too safe for kids, I think will also likely cause them to grow up to be less aware of dangerous situations. When I was a kid, I did a lot of dumb things that got me hurt. Each one of them was a valuable lesson, not to do that again. :thumb:

 

[Pamela_Brewer]

I didn't know there was other knowledge. I will wait and see.


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"Police said David Puckett had a history of wandering away from home in the past.

The family told CBS4 they continued to hope the outcome of this search would be the same as the previous incidents, with the safe return of their child."

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2017/01/02/missing-boys-mother-something-really-bad-might-have-happened/

There were incidents of him wandering away from school and home.
I believe police had returned him home before. I'll look for link.

 

[Pamela_Brewer]

"The child, who attends Dartmouth Elementary in Aurora, has wandered off from home at least twice before. One time, he was found at a convenience store; the other time, a concerned citizen called authorities."

I imagine that CPS has been involved with him wandering off prior to this.

I think that is why LE has made the statements via Twitter that they have.
http://www.denverpost.com/2017/01/01/police-search-for-aurora-boy-6-not-dressed-for-cold-weather/

 

[LietKynes]

"Police said David Puckett had a history of wandering away from home in the past.

The family told CBS4 they continued to hope the outcome of this search would be the same as the previous incidents, with the safe return of their child."

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2017/01/02/missing-boys-mother-something-really-bad-might-have-happened/

There were incidents of him wandering away from school and home.
I believe police had returned him home before. I'll look for link.

SABBM

Hmmm...
So why no alarms on doors, or a bracelet to let them know when he'd left the house ?
Just seems odd.
And the police can't always be expected to locate your wandering child. Even if it's difficult-- you have to take some strict measures to ensure their safety

You're the first line of defense concerning your child's whereabouts and well being.

Not blaming; just thinking this was preventable ?
:moo:

Eta : From the link at post # 672 --- Metz said that the initial hope is David Puckett went to a friend’s house to play video games.

My .02 is that 6 years old is too young to be allowed to wander over to a friend's to play video games. Wouldn't it be better if he was dropped off at the friend's house and picked up later ?

AND.... if he liked to run off-- wouldn't it be unwise to let him hang out at a friend's house without and adult family member with him ?
So many questions.

I'm getting vibes of that little girl -- Genise Wright ??

 

[Pamela_Brewer]

SABBM

Hmmm...
So why no alarms on doors, or a bracelet to let them know when he'd left the house ?
Just seems odd.
And the police can't always be expected to locate your wandering child. Even if it's difficult-- you have to take some strict measures to ensure their safety

You're the first line of defense concerning your child's whereabouts and well being.

Not blaming; just thinking this was preventable ?
:moo:

Eta : From the link at post # 672 --- Metz said that the initial hope is David Puckett went to a friend’s house to play video games.

My .02 is that 6 years old is too young to be allowed to wander over to a friend's to play video games. Wouldn't it be better if he was dropped off at the friend's house and picked up later ?

AND.... if he liked to run off-- wouldn't it be unwise to let him hang out at a friend's house without and adult family member with him ?
So many questions.

I'm getting vibes of that little girl -- Genise Wright ??

That is what I worry about. Did he have an older friend /buddy.
I'm not concerned about the family at all. He went out his window.
There is probably a reason for that.
Deadbolt, door alarms may have been in place!
MOO

 

[NYArtist]

I'm remembering something from many years ago. It was a church camp outing for African American children, where they went to a park in the dead of summer when it was blazing hot, and there was a water feature there that if you got in it, you couldn't get back out. It was decorative only - it was DEEP, and if you even walked along the edge and lost your balance, you would drown because there wasn't a way to get back out.


I remember when I first began to read about David, I began to think of where he could have gone to that would have made him unable to return home. I thought of several instances and wondered if he might have gotten into something he couldn't get out of such as a drain pipe or something with water in it. I really didn't think of him crossing that busy street by himself until I saw on the map and realized that the crossing area where he may have crossed the street would be how he learned to go to school from his house. Then any area would be fair game for him. He may have thought the pond was shallow if he put his foot into it right at the edge by the cement walkway. Seems he is familiar with water as he has several pictures taken with water in the background..

 

[NYArtist]

Not sure if I did that correctly. Don't see the quote highlighted.:blushing:

 

[JeannaT]

Not sure if I did that correctly. Don't see the quote highlighted.:blushing:

Welcome, NYArtist. If you want to quote a post, you hit the "reply with quote" link found in the lower right hand side of the post you want to quote. Then it gets highlighted. ;D

 

[JeannaT]

So not to derail this thread, but this is the fountain I was referring to, where the African American kids drowned. It's called "water gardens", and the church group was directed there by an employee of their hotel, since the hotel pool was broken. They arrived there prepared to swim, which is a tragedy, because they weren't from the area and were told it was a swimming venue.

The park is still open, and the photo the park uses shows people playing in the waterfall. If they slip into the pool in the center, they won't be able to get out. Astonishing.

The story:

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5232929/#.WHJPECMrIYh
The park:

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=e...ved=0ahUKEwih_Zzq47LRAhUr3IMKHa-IDVEQoioIcTAK

 

[AmyPond]

It's really a little surprising that a municipality didn't recognize the danger here. As I understand it, the fountain had pretty lights? And the fountain kept the water around it from freezing, where the rest of the pond was frozen?

So really. An unsupervised child (or impaired adult, or really an adventuresome adult) could walk up to look closer at the fountain and lights and suddenly the ice would give way and they would be so far from the edge of the pond that they'd face certain death.

Hmm. Nobody saw this as a disaster waiting to happen?

I'm remembering something from many years ago. It was a church camp outing for African American children, where they went to a park in the dead of summer when it was blazing hot, and there was a water feature there that if you got in it, you couldn't get back out. It was decorative only - it was DEEP, and if you even walked along the edge and lost your balance, you would drown because there wasn't a way to get back out. Anyone else remember this? Many of the children drowned.

This case reminds me of that. Putting a feature that keeps the center of the pond from freezing, where the rest of the pond freezes, and then light up that feature with pretty lights. ???? That would be beautiful in the summer, but turn it off in the winter when it's a death trap.

I imagine there are parks like this one all over the country and some partially freeze. I feel this is a somewhat isolated incident. The issue isn't the park or the pond. The issue is a young child wandering and being unattended. He could have just as easily fallen into any natural body of water and drowned (we see it fairly often, sadly) but that doesn't mean every body of water should have a fence around it.

This is a sad accident. Could it have been prevented? Probably. But I don't believe the parents intentionally did anything wrong. I really feel for them. I am sure they feel incredible guilt. Every parent has a lapse in judgement. Every parent makes mistakes.

 

[AmyPond]

And YIKES on that water gardens place in Ft. Worth. I don't think I'd take my child there. I wouldn't even feel comfortable walking around there. That is just a bizarre design, for sure.