4-year-old child with special needs drowns in bathtub after being left unattended, deputies say

TOMBALL, Texas – A 4-year-old child has died after he was found face down in a bathtub Tuesday, Harris County sheriff’s deputies said.

Deputies said they received a call at around 1:30 a.m. about a boy that was found face down in the water in the 25900 block of Fountain Bleau Drive. When they arrived at the scene, the boy’s 27-year-old mother told deputies her 4-year-old child with special needs was found in the tub after she was bathing him, along with a 1-year-old.

Deputies said the mother told them she walked away to get some items, but when she came back, she found the child in a fetal position in the tub. She then called authorities.

According to HCSO, the child was transported to the hospital after 18 minutes of CPR. He was later pronounced dead.

“The main thing would be to try to find out when the mother walked away, how long did she walk away for and what were the children’s conditions before she left,” Harris County Sheriff’s Office Senior Deputy Thomas Gilliland said. “You just have to make sure that you watch your children, where they are at all times.”

Authorities said the mother and her two children lived at home with a 77-year-old man whom she was in a relationship with. Deputies said the drowning is under further investigation.