An investigation is underway north of Houston after a 74-year-old woman and a 2-year-old child both died when they were pulled from a neighborhood pond, one of several drownings over the holiday weekend that have put a renewed spotlight on water safety in the area.
According to Harris County Sheriff's deputies, the tragedy happened just after 6 o'clock on Sunday evening on Spring Lakes Haven Drive, in the Spring area. A mother and her young child had been visiting an elderly relative who lives in the neighborhood.
At some point, deputies said, the toddler became bored, and the elderly relative offered to take the child outside, telling the mother she would bring the little one to a nearby neighborhood park while she stayed behind.
After some time passed and the mother did not hear back from them, she grew concerned and went looking for the pair. When she walked up to the neighborhood pond, she found emergency crews already there, with responders trying to save her elderly relative.
A short time later, the child was pulled from the water as well. Both the woman and the child were taken to a hospital, where they later died. It is not known how long the two had been in the water before they were discovered.
Police said the mother described the 74-year-old as her cousin. Investigators have not said how the woman and the toddler ended up in the pond, and the exact circumstances remain part of the ongoing inquiry into what happened.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez offered his condolences to those grieving, saying in a statement that his deepest condolences go out to the family and loved ones affected by what he called a devastating loss.