Cochise County, Airzona: 12 year old boy dies in fire, found under bed

12 year-old killed in overnight house fire
Posted: Apr 02, 2011 2:46 PM EDT
Updated: Apr 02, 2011 2:46 PM EDT
KGUN9
Brian Pryor

COCHISE COUNTY, Ariz. (KGUN9-TV) - Authorities are investigating a house fire that claimed the life of a 12 year-old boy overnight.

Carol Capas with the Sheriff's Office said that they responded to the trailer home in the 400 block of Purdy Lane after 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

Crews from the Naco, Bisbee, and San Jose Fire Department responded, as they arrived they observed two subjects outside the home. The father was seen trying to re-enter the burning home searching for his 12 year-old autistic son.

Once the fire was under control, firefighters searched the scene and found the 12 year-old partially under the bed deceased. The father told investigators that the son evacuated with the family but became confused and ran back into the burning home.

The American Red Cross is providing emergency aid to the family and provided them a place to stay. The Bisbee Fire Department also provided the family a care back with necessities and a pre-paid credit card.

Investigators have not determined the cause of the fire but are looking at the electrical system as a possible cause.

BISBEE, Ariz. (AP) — An autistic Arizona boy is said to have alerted his father about a fire in their mobile home early today, but then ran back inside after everyone had safely escaped. The father says his 12-year-old son appeared to be confused. Sheriff's officials say the home in Bizbee was fully engulfed by the time fire crews arrived.

Ida Township, Michigan: Jackson Kastner, age 4, drowns after wandering from home

Boy wanders from home, drowns in river
by Ray Kisonas , last modified March 28. 2011 11:36AM

IDA TOWNSHIP — An intense search and a dramatic helicopter rescue attempt ended in tragedy and sorrow Sunday afternoon when a missing 4-year-old boy with autism drowned in the River Raisin after he wandered from his home.

Counselors were on hand this morning for the students and staff at the Riverside Early Learning Center where Jackson Kastner was a student.

“It’s just tragic,” said Donald Spencer, superintendent of the Monroe County Intermediate School District. “We’re sick about it. The staff works so closely with the kids and their parents. They’re just devastated.”

An autopsy was scheduled for this morning but Monroe County Sheriff Tilman Crutchfield said there was nothing suspicious involving the boy’s death, which he expects to be ruled as an accidental drowning. That’s why there was no Amber Alert issued.

“There was no reason for it,” the sheriff said this morning. “It was never a case of suspected foul play.”

Jackson was outside playing in the back yard of the family home on S. Custer Rd. west of Raisinville Rd. when his mother reportedly went inside the house for about four or five minutes, said Sgt. Jeff Kemp. The river is about 300 yards behind the house, police said.

“When she came back out, he was gone,” Sgt. Kemp said.

Jackson apparently enjoyed a neighbor’s playscape and that’s the first place his mother looked. But when he wasn’t there, she called 911 and that launched a search involving 40 to 50 volunteers from area fire and police departments, including three tracking dogs.

Paul Metz, chief of the Ida Township Volunteer Fire Department, coordinated the firefighters’ search. Jackson’s autism was such that he did not respond to his name and he often liked confined spaces, he said.

Chief Metz said firefighters, neighbors and others looked along the river bank.

“The whole time we were totally optimistic,” Chief Metz said, who wanted to thank the community for the effort. “We thought he was going to be fine. There were real high emotions.”

Around the same time, the sheriff’s aviator unit was deployed and searching from above. Pilot Joe Schumaker and deputies Don Duncan and Brian Francisco were in the Raptor about 300 feet above the ground when the two deputies spotted something yellow in the water, which was relatively clear.

It was part of the boy’s clothing.

“You could tell it was him,” Deputy Duncan said.

The boy’s body was spotted at a small island in the middle of the river across from Carrington Farms about 1½ miles downstream from the family home. Mr. Schumaker carefully landed the helicopter on the island.

“It took some fantastic flying skills to get there,” the sheriff said.

Just as he touched down, the two deputies jumped out of the chopper and retrieved the boy. They began life-saving efforts, then decided the best course of action was to fly him across the river to a waiting ambulance.

While police closed traffic on S. Custer Rd. in both directions, Mr. Schumaker landed the chopper in the middle of the road and the boy was taken to the ambulance, which rushed him to the hospital.

Doctors could not save him.

“It’s always extra difficult when it’s a young one,” Deputy Duncan said. “It’s tough.”

The sheriff said that although the rescue ended in tragedy, at least the boy was found quickly. The river’s currents were strong and there is no telling how long it would have taken for a recovery.

“It’s important that we were able to retrieve him and have quick closure for the family,” the sheriff said. “If it hadn’t been for the helicopter and the crew we would not have found him. It was a tremendous effort, but it’s sad.”

Lawton, Oklahoma: Savanah Lawton, age 7, drowns after wandering from home

Savannah Martin, age 7

Girl, 7, who drowned in Lawton had struggled to overcome autism

A girl who drowned in a Lawton pond struggled with autism but had learned to talk. She was also trying to learn to swim. Her 2-year-old brother was rescued from the pond and has been released from a hospital.

BY ROBERT MEDLEY rmedley@opubco.com
Published: February 23, 2011

LAWTON — Doctors once said Savannah Martin would never talk, but she defied the early diagnosis and started to speak. Then she learned to read. She even tried to learn to swim.

But on Sunday, Savannah, 7, who was autistic, slipped away from her home in Lawton and headed for a chilly pond nearby. Her brother, Tommy Martin, 2, who was wearing a bicycle helmet, may have followed her to the pond, said the children's' aunt, Ruth Sanchez, 35.

Savannah was found face down in the pond, which was about 50 yards from her home. Her brother was floating upright next to her, buoyed by the Styrofoam in his helmet.

“We can't believe this little angel is gone,” Sanchez said.

The children's mother, Beth Martin, 31, swam into the pond but was unable to pull her daughter out of the water. A neighbor, Hector Figueroa, 45, swam in and pulled both children to the bank.
It was too late to save Savannah, despite her mother's efforts to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Lawton firefighters also tried CPR, but Savannah was pronounced dead at Southwestern Medical Center.

Tommy Martin has been released from OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City, where he was treated for hypothermia, a hospital spokesman said Tuesday.

Lawton police Capt. Craig Akard said he doesn't know how long the children were in the water. He said officers are still interviewing witnesses and he couldn't comment on the investigation.
Beth Martin had recently separated from her husband, Thomas Martin, who is in the Oklahoma National Guard, and had been looking for a new place to live because of concerns about the pond, said Sanchez, who is Beth Martin's sister.

Beth Martin wanted to get a house with an alarm system because Savannah had recently figured out how to unlock doors, Sanchez said.

Savannah was diagnosed as autistic when she was 2, Sanchez said. Her mother worked to get her daughter to speak. But Savannah had not quite gotten the hang of swimming.

“She loved the water and playing in the bathtub and swimming. Water was a big draw to her, just the movement of it and the shimmering of the water in the sun outside,” she said.

A family friend, Juliet Burk, of Tahlequah, said Beth Martin worked doggedly with her daughter, even traveling to therapists in upstate New York.

She said Savannah started to say a few words and short sentences by the time she was 5.

In a Feb. 8 Facebook post, Beth Martin wrote: “Savannah looked at me straight in the eyes and said, ‘Give me a hug!' And ran into my arms. Can never thank those in her life that have helped get her to this point enough. Your work is never unnoticed or forgotten.”

Sanchez said her niece was on track to be mainstreamed into a first-grade class at Cache Elementary School. Once a week, Sanchez drove Savannah to the ACI Learning Center in Edmond, a therapy school for autistic children.

“Savannah had made tremendous strides,” Sanchez said. “She'd come home and give us hugs and kisses.”

Savannah loved Disney princesses and fairies and her favorite singer was Taylor Swift. Her brother Tommy was her “cohort,” who would go everywhere with her, Sanchez said.

About 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Beth Martin couldn't find the children in the house and ran to the pond, but didn't see them at first, Sanchez said. Then their older brother, Tristen, 11, went to the pond and heard them screaming.

Beth Martin climbed a barbed-wire fence to get to the pond, but was not strong enough to get her daughter to the bank, Sanchez said.

Martin went into shock at the hospital and has not been able to talk about her daughter's death, Sanchez said.

“Beth had told me she was planning to spend the rest of her life taking care of Savannah so she could give her the best life she could,” Sanchez said.

Fort Lupton, Colorado: 3-year-old drowns in golf course lake

FORT LUPTON - A toddler wandered out of his home Saturday morning to a nearby golf course, where he drowned in a pond.

Fort Lupton Police Chief Kenneth Poncelow says the three-year-old was being watched by his grandmother at a home in the 200 block of Ponderosa Place. He says she stepped away for a moment as the toddler was watching cartoons. When she returned, he was gone.

She called police at 9:18 a.m. and according to Poncelow, officers quickly created a search party. Around 9:30 a.m. they found the little boy in a nearby lake at the Coyote Creek Golf Course.

The boy was airlifted to Children's Hospital in Aurora where he later died.

New York, New York: Jawara Henry, 27, asphyxiated while restrained at a state psychiatric facility.

Jawara Henry, age 27

Autistic NY patient's death ruled homicide
The Associated Press
Tuesday, December 7, 2010; 9:38 AM

NEW YORK -- The death of a severely autistic patient who had been allegedly restrained at a state-run psychiatric facility in New York has been ruled a homicide.

New York City's medical examiner determined Jawara Henry died of asphyxiation by neck and chest compression on Saturday.

Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan tells The New York Times "any decisions regarding a criminal prosecution will be made down the road."

Family lawyer Gary Douglas tells the paper the 27-year-old functioned at the level of a young child but had no history of outbursts. He says the man's mother had seen injuries on her son before. Henry had been at the Staten Island facility for about a year.

The facility declined to comment due to the investigation.

Liverpool, UK: Angela Owen, 45, dies after waiting seven months for a hernia operation

Autistic woman died after seven month hernia operation wait

Dec 15 2010 by Tom Bristow, Liverpool Echo

AN AUTISTIC woman died after a seven month wait for an operation.

Yesterday Southport hospital, where she died, was criticised at an inquest for negligence.

Angela Owen, 45, from Skelmersdale was due to have an operation on a hernia in April last year.

But after an hour delay the operation was cancelled. Her name then fell off the waiting list for seven months.

On December 19 she was taken to Southport A&E where she later died of a strangulated hernia.

A hospital spokesman denied negligence, but apologised for an unacceptable delay.

Rancho Bernardo, California: Katherine Riley, 26, killed while crossing the street

RANCHO BERNARDO: Woman hit and killed while crossing the street
December 10, 2010
North County Times

RANCHO BERNARDO ---- A 26-year-old woman with autism was hit by a car and killed Thursday morning while crossing the street to change buses, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.

Katherine Riley, of San Diego, was killed around 9:40 a.m. Thursday while running across Black Mountain Road to switch from a northbound transit bus to a southbound transit bus. Riley was struck by a private-passenger vehicle in the southbound lane.

The vehicle stopped immediately and witnesses called paramedics, who found Riley unresponsive with numerous traumatic injuries.

Riley was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla where doctors pronounced her dead.