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Brooke Walker ReportingTwo separate accidents involving water this weekend leave one toddler dead and another clinging to life. The most recent incident happened this morning at an apartment complex in Sandy.
Police say a practical joke may have lured a two-year-old boy to a fountain and then delayed the search.
This weekend's accidents are both tragic reminders that all it takes is water. The danger lies in pools, rivers, in this case a shallow fountain. And it only takes minutes.
"I saw a lady crying and I said, 'Ma'am is everything okay?'"
Around nine o'clock this morning, Matthew Burbank was leaving a work meeting when he heard a mother's frantic plea.
"She said, 'I can't find my baby boy.'"
The mother told Burbank she got out of the shower, found her front door wide open and her two-year boy gone. Immediately, Burbank and his three co-workers began scouring the complex.
Josh Poulsen/ Helped search: "The mother told us he liked cars, he liked water, things like that. So one of the first places we checked was the pond."
A nearby fountain that pools into a little pond was full of bubbles as the result of a prank.
"We walked by multiple times and couldn't see the little boy."
But acting on instinct, the men checked once more.
Matthew Proctor/ Found boy: "We saw a little piece of clothing bubble up on the water. I got in there and I touched it and said, 'I think it's a body.' Sure enough, it was a little boy."
The two-year old was limp and not breathing. The men called 911 and began CPR. The toddler was soon flown to the hospital.
The men feel they did all they could, but say the bubbles that were meant as a harmless practical joke lost them valuable time.
Josh Poulsen: "It may have cost a life. Because if we could have seen him before, we could have pulled him out about 15 minutes before that, and that's just unfortunate."
Another unfortunate incident happened last night in Southern Utah.
Joshua Fischer, age 22 months, fell into the rushing waters of the Sevier River. Crews found him tangled in some branches downstream, lifeless and not breathing.
He was taken to the hospital, but pronounced dead.
Sgt. Victor Quezada/ Sandy City Police Dept.: "It's a tough job being a parent, number one. But make sure you know where your kids are at all times."
The two-year-old is in critical condition tonight at Primary Children's Hospital.
Again, police want to remind parents with the summer season approaching to be extra cautious.
