Boy who drowned in Fort Lauderdale pool identified, investigation ongoing – NBC 6 South Florida

An 8-year-old boy who drowned in a Fort Lauderdale backyard pool has been identified as authorities investigate how he ended up there.

Fort Lauderdale police said Ryan Amichette died after being found in a pool in the 1100 block of Northwest 4th Avenue Monday night.

In a statement on Tuesday, police said Amichette’s death appeared to be an accident.

Officers drove to the house and jumped into the pool to rescue Amichette. He was taken to Broward Health Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Police said Amichette did not live in the home and the homeowner did not know him.

Investigators are still trying to determine how and why he entered the backyard and pool.

Amichette’s brother said the boy disappeared after school. He said a babysitter was supposed to pick him up from school, but that didn’t happen.

“We searched for him for almost three hours until it was six o’clock, and then I saw a lot of police around the corner. I ran to the police and said, ‘Have you seen a little boy?’ And then the police said, ‘We just found a little boy in the pool,'” said Brother Gibson Severe.

The babysitter told the family she saw Amichette walking with other children and she called out to him, but he kept walking, Severe said.

It is unclear whether he was on his way to the swimming pool alone or with other children.

Severe said Amichette moved to South Florida from the Bahamas about two years ago.

The pool is shared by four different buildings and the property is fenced.

There are signs around the property indicating that it is secured by security cameras, so police hope these could help investigators answer some questions.