4-Year-Old Boy Drowns At Rainbow Beach

ST. CROIX — A 4-year-old toddler died on Rainbow Beach in Frederiskted on Monday afternoon after being left unattended by his mother, who was attending to the needs of the toddler’s younger sibling, VIPD Public Information Officer Kevin Jackson announced this afternoon.

According to Jackson, the 911 emergency call center received notification of a possible drowning at the beach late Monday afternoon. Responding officers arrived at the location, where members of St. Croix Rescue and the V.I. Fire Department were administering CPR to the unresponsive boy. The child’s mother stated that the toddler had been playing in the water, unattended, while she was attending to the needs of her younger child and suddenly saw a commotion, as someone approached her saying that her child had drowned.

A employee of a nearby business told officers that he saw the body of a child floating in the water and he went to see if the child was okay. As he reached the child, he saw that the toddler was floating face down, was unresponsive and foaming from the mouth. He then immediately began to perform CPR until the rescue unit arrived.

The body of the toddler was transported to the Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 5:20 p.m.

Feature Image: Rainbow Beach, Frederiksted.