NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A 5-year-old boy who was reported missing in Upstate New York was found unresponsive in a drainage ditch over the weekend, according to police.
The boy -- whose name has not been released -- was reported missing from the Manchester Gardens Apartments located in the Arlington section of the Town of Poughkeepsie on Sunday.
The Town of Poughkeepsie police sent out a missing report and post on social media at around 1:40 p.m. and later went door to door in search of him.
He was last seen near Manchester Road and Rhobella Drive, police said in the Facebook post.
“I used to see him all the time,” a heartbroken neighbor told 1010 WINS/WCBS 880. “The mother was always with him.”
During the search, "police received information that led them to believe that the missing child might be in a nearby area with drainage ditches and culverts so Arlington dispatched on-duty firefighters and activated its water rescue team," William A. Steenbergh, chief of the Department Arlington Fire District said in a statement.
The Arlington Fire Department joined the Town of Poughkeepsie police at around 4:30 p.m. to assist in the search of a drainage area.
The Arlington Fire Department’s internal swiftwater rescue team found the boy "submerged in several feet of water," Steenbergh said.
He was unconscious and not breathing when found.
"It was not known at that time how long the child might have been in the water," Steenbergh said.
Firefighters tried to revive the boy at the scene before transporting him to Mid Hudson Regional Hospital. The child did not survive.
No further details have been released.
An investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Town of Poughkeepsie at 845-485-3666.