EATONTON, Ga. — The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office is sharing new details in the drowning death of an Autistic Putnam County child, who drowned after wandering from his home.
Sheriff Howard Sills says Xander Whitehurst, 7, was first reported missing Tuesday by his great-grandfather, with whom Whitehurst lived. Sills said that the call came in around 1:30 p.m. that afternoon and deputies were dispatched to the home near Lake Oconee in Eatonton.
“We began to look for him. Well, a postal carrier that worked that neighborhood delivering the mail spotted a body in the water,” Sills said.
Sills said a postal worker saw a child floating in the lake near Shelby Drive, less than a half mile from Whitehurst’s home. He said she pulled the child from the water and called out for help before a nearby landscaper heard her and called 911.
“It’s a terrible thing when something like this happens, and our sympathies go out to the families,” Sills said.
EMS responded to Shelby drive where Sills says Xander was still alive. Sills said the ambulance took him to the hospital just after 2 p.m., where he was later pronounced dead around 3:30 that afternoon.
“This happened in a very quick period of time and a very short distance away, and that is unfortunately not that uncommon,” Sills said.
In November, a similar tragedy happened in Baldwin County when Jeffrey Epps, a teenager with Autism, drowned in a pond after wandering from his home.
Katrina Pirkle is the CEO of the Arc Macon, which provides services and advocacy for those with disabilities, including Autism. She agrees with Sills and said tragedies like these can happen quickly.
“It can happen in the blink of an eye,” Pirkle said.
We spoke to Pirkle the week of Whitehurst’s death, when she shared her support for House Bill 465. The bill would expand the state’s emergency alert system to include people with Autism who go missing, and would urge law enforcement to check water first when searching.
Pirkle emphasizes that everyone with Autism Spectrum Disorder is different, but many find sensory comfort in water, which can lead to dangerous situations for those who wander from their homes.
“The feeling of that pressure of water, it does bring some comfort, but then there is a lack of sense of danger,” Pirkle said. “And so without having that sense of danger, it makes the whole thing even more dangerous.”
Sills said there was no sign of foul play in the drowning, and they are no longer investigating.