Officials identify 16-month-old who drowned in water diversion pipe

Officials identify 16-month-old who drowned in water diversion pipe

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THATCHER, Box Elder County — A 16-month-old boy who was found dead Monday night was located inside a water diversion pipe about 530 yards from its opening, authorities said Tuesday.

Box Elder County sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a missing boy at a home in Thatcher, according to a statement from Chief Deputy Dale Ward with the Box Elder County Sheriff's Office. Ward said that Jackson Scott Weaver had been playing with his brothers at his family’s home before his siblings noticed he was gone.

The home is located near an irrigation canal, and an adjacent irrigation ditch is also nearby, north of the Thatcher/Penrose Fire Department, Ward said. Emergency crews began searching for the boy near the canal, and the company that owned the canal shut off the water to assist crews.

At the same time, Jackson’s father began searching a water diversion structure by the irrigation ditch that diverts the water from the ditch into a 12-inch PVC pipe system that runs above and below ground, Ward said. The father followed the pipe until it went back above ground and he then began taking the pipe apart in sections. He found his son's body in a section of pipe about 530 yards from the pipe's opening near the family’s home, Ward added.

Emergency crews responded and pronounced Jackson dead at the scene. His body was transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.

Ward said the drowning is being investigated as a “tragic accident” and no foul play is suspected.

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Carter Williams is an award-winning reporter who covers general news, outdoors, history and sports for KSL.com.

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