FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A heartbroken family spoke with Local 10 News Tuesday, just one day after an 8-year-old boy was found at the bottom of a Broward County pool.
It happened around 6:30 p.m. Monday at an apartment complex near the 1100 block of Northwest Fourth Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.
According to authorities, the owner of the home with the pool discovered Ryan Amichette in the water and called 911.
Gibson Severe, Ryan’s older brother, told Local 10 News that he was searching for his brother for hours before police discovered his sibling at the bottom of the pool.
“I ran to the police, and I said, ‘Have y’all seen a little boy? And then police was like, ‘We just found a little boy in the pool,” said Gibson.
One of the homeowners at the apartment complex told Local 10 News reporter Layron Livingston that he saw a pair of shoes by the pool before seeing the child face down in the water.
Local 10 News received audio of the homeowner’s 911 call just moments after he spotted the boy at the bottom of his pool.
“I just woke up and saw some little shoes by my pool. There’s a little kid at the bottom of my pool!” the caller stated.
Fort Lauderdale police said one of their responding officers arrived and performed CPR on Ryan until rescue crews arrived, police said.
He was later pronounced dead at Broward Health Medical Center.
“We had been looking for him for almost three hours,” said Severe.
Gibson said that his stepmother, Ryan’s mother, relocated here from the Bahamas two-and-a-half years ago and pays a woman to look after Ryan and pick him up from school.
For some reason, the caregiver did not pick him up from school on Monday and claimed that Ryan “disappeared” after school.
Gibson shared his frustration after the caregiver claimed to have seen Ryan the previous day but did not notify them.
“The lady she pays to watch him says she saw him yesterday, and I was like, at least you could’ve called us-- something,” he said.
Gibson recalled one of his final conversations with his younger brother, wherein he inquired about Ryan’s swimming abilities, to which Ryan affirmed he could swim.
He also had a message for any parents who plan on leaving their children unattended:
“Don’t trust anyone with your kids,” said Gibson. “Make sure your kids get home safe from school because you never know what can happen.”
Neighbors told Local 10 News no child lived at the property.
Signs around the home warn that the area is under around the clock camera surveillance and any such video could help detectives unravel the mysterious circumstances.
Fort Lauderdale police opened a death investigation on Monday as it remains unclear as to how Ryan was able to enter the backyard of the home with the pool.
Anyone with information on the case is urged to call them at 954-828-5700 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.
Local 10 News reporter Joseph Ojo contributed to this report.