A family is grieving after a 6-year-old boy drowned Tuesday in a southwest Miami-Dade canal blocks from his home.
Family members say 6-year-old King Supa Dixon was full of life.
“He was a loving kid,” said Vanessa Wesley, King’s aunt.
She said she was on the phone with her sister, who is the child’s mother.
“It’s sad that it was sudden and so random,” Wesley said. “Immediately I heard, ‘Where’s King, where’s King?’”
Her sister just got to her Homestead home after picking up King from daycare, Wesley said. When her sister was unloading the car, King ran off.
“She didn’t realize that he bolted out,” Wesley said.
King’s mother drove around to search for her son, but couldn’t find him. 911 was called, and a deputy found the 6-year-old in a nearby canal less than a mile from his home. He was declared dead at the hospital. Wesley said her nephew was autistic and didn’t know how to swim.
King’s grandmother, Loustanie Dorval, is also heartbroken.
“Love your kids, I love my grandson, I always cook for him, buy anything he wants, I love my grandkids, he lost just like that,” Dorval said.
Read more U.S. Coast Guard urges boaters to prepare for the busy Memorial Day weekend
A child who barely began to live, and a family dealing with an unimaginable loss.
“He made everyone smile; he was always with the giggles,” Wesley said. “This is something that has impacted our family for the rest of our lives.”
According to the Florida Department of Children and Families, 119 children drowned in Florida last year, and people with autism are up to 160 times more likely to drown than their neurotypical peers.
Read more Influencer ‘Baby Alien’ also avoids jail in alleged gator shooting involving Clavicular