Parents of 5-year-old autistic girl, Kesia Kearse, are asking for help to bury her

Parents of 5-year-old autistic girl, Kesia Kearse, are asking for help to bury her

BRADENTON - Born with Autism, Kesia Kearse, 5, never really talked. Still, her parents knew she loved water, because she'd jump in it every chance she got.  

"This particular day, she did something she'd never done before," remembered her grandmother, Bea Lovely. 

While visiting Lovely's house in Bradenton along with her father and brothers Monday afternoon, Kesia unlocked a sliding glass door.  

Minutes later, neighbors saw her disappear, submerged in a backyard retention pond. They dove in to try to find her.  

Kesia's family didn't even know she was missing.  

"I'm looking at all these people trying to save somebody, and little did I know, they were out there to save my granddaughter," Lovely said. "My hair's standing up right now. I'll tell you, that was a devastating feeling."  

Read more: http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_sarasota_manatee/bradenton/parents-of-5-year-old-autistic-girl-kesia-kearse-are-asking-for-help-to-bury-her#ixzz1xst5WoGH

Why is My Child Eloping and What Can I Do? | Autism Community

Why is My Child Eloping and What Can I Do? | Autism Community

As with any problem behavior, it is essential to first determine the function of the behavior. This is the WHY. There are two common reasons an individual with autism may elope (defined as the act of leaving an area without permission or notification which usually leads to placing that individual in a potentially dangerous situation): (1) to GET something or somewhere preferred, or (2) to ESCAPE something or somewhere non-preferred. Once you’ve determine why the individual is eloping, there are a few strategies which may be helpful.

Autistic girl, 5, drowns in Bradenton pond

Autistic girl, 5, drowns in Bradenton pond

The Manatee County Sheriff's Office dive team has recovered the body of a 5-year-old autistic girl who drowned in a pond Monday, authorities said. 

Several witnesses reported seeing the girl in a retention pond off the 4400 block of Ninth Avenue East, in the Braden River Lakes subdivision, about 1:30 p.m. 

About a dozen divers and other firefighters searched the pond, which is about 12 to 20 feet deep in its deepest parts. 

The child did not know how to swim. 

Police say she was at home with her father and grandmother when somehow she managed to wander out a sliding glass door. 

The house backs up to a retention pond.

4-year-old Aiden Bower with autism drowns in Pasco swimming pool, left house via window

4-year-old autistic boy Aiden Bower drowns in Pasco swimming pool | wtsp.com

"Everyone is devastated in this case," said Tobin.  "The parents, I'm told, did everything they could.  The one thing they didn't think of that their child would go through the window."