Ryan Amichette
Courtesy of Ryan Amichette’s family
A 8-year-old boy was discovered face down in a Broward County pool, where officers made a desperate attempt to rescue him while responding to a 911 call from the homeowner Monday evening. Days later, Ft. Lauderdale police are investigating the circumstances surrounding his tragic death — including how and why he got into the backyard and pool.
The homeowner, who lives at the 1000 block of Northwest 4th Avenue, called 911 around 6:30 p.m. after waking up from nap, noticing a pair of children’s shoes by the pool and seeing Ryan Amichette submerged beneath the water, according to an audio clip release by police Wednesday.
“I’ve never seen him before,” the homeowner, whom police has not named, said when asked by the dispatcher if he knew Ryan. “We’ve never had a stray child in here. I see his clothes are right here by the gate, and his shoes are by the pool, and he’s at the bottom floating, looking at the bottom.”
Sirens could be heard in the background as the man spoke with the 911 dispatcher. Moments later, he said officers arrived, jumped in the pool, pulled Ryan out and began lifesaving measures.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue rushed the child to Broward Health Medical Center, where police spokeswoman Casey Liening said doctors pronounced him dead.
“Based on the information gathered so far by detectives, this incident appears to have been accidental,” Liening said in a statement. This investigation remains ongoing to determine the circumstances, including why the boy entered the back yard and the pool.”
Fort Lauderdale police did not immediately respond to questions regarding where Ryan lived.
Ryan’s older brother, Gibson Severe, told WSVN 7 Monday that their mother paid a nanny to pickup the boy and watch over him after school. But when she saw him walking down the street with friends, he added, she turned around.
After his brother didn’t come home from school, Severe told the station that he and other family members looked all over the city for him.
Noticing a large number of police and first responders in the area, he asked an officer if they located a lost child.
“And then the police was like ‘We just found a little boy in the pool.’” Severe told WSVN.
