Ortiz said his son, Ethan Ortiz-Ruiz, was missing for about 30 minutes, according to a report.
[snip]
“It happened on a number of occasions. And on top of that, the child in the previous occasion was found wading through that same retention pond,” Sanford police spokeswoman Bianca Gillett told Channel 9 on Monday. “The parents still chose not to make take extra measures to ensure the safety of their child.”
Gillett said the previous incident happened March 17.
Sanford parents face judge after their son, 3, drowns in apartment complex retention pond
RIH Ethan. Parents got 25K each for bond
It was at least the fourth time the child had left the residence on his own.
[snip]
Both parents are facing aggravated manslaughter charges.
[snip]
Two of those times, he was brought to the front office by helpful neighbors who spotted the youngster walking around the apartment complex unsupervised.
[snip]
On a third occasion
in March, a member of the apartment complex’s management staff called the police after sighting Ethan once again outside by himself. Ortiz told officers he had fallen asleep without realizing the boy had left.
Police said during this visit to the apartment that they saw the boy was able to open the front door on his own, despite the extra safety measures that had been installed to prevent him from doing so.
Police then contacted Seminole County Child Protective Services to advise the agency send an investigator for a follow-up.
Autistic toddler drowns in pond while weed-smoking parents were inside apartment: police
lawandcrime.com
