Stella Maris Educators and parents are reeling after a tragedy that occurred today. Events started to unfold at noon that led to the drowning death of a 6 year old special needs student. 7News was there when his body was recovered from the sea in the Kings Park area. Jomarie Lanza was one of the first to arrive at the scene and here's what she saw.
It's a sight that could easily make your heart drop to your stomach in a matter of seconds. Seeing the lifeless body of a young child sprawled out near the water's edge. It's a scene that will forever haunt the Orellano family, finding their little one in this state after dropping him off at school no less than 7 hours earlier.
6 year old Pablo Orellano was an autistic student here at Stella Maris Primary school, and somehow during the lunch hour, his teachers lost track of him, and he managed to make his way out of the school compound, and end up here in the Hangar area about a mile away.
Those in the area saw him at the water's edge. The boy removed his clothing and went into the water for a swim. A short time after he was found floating in the sea close to the seawall - he was unresponsive.
Police arrived at the scene around 1:30, followed by a group of distraught teachers from the school, and along with them Pablo's grandmother, who was inconsolable.
Not long after, his father Vidal Orellano and another relative arrived. And that's when the reality of this tragedy began to sink in among them as the Scenes of Crime unit removed his little body from the scene.
It's hard to process how quickly everything happened in the span of an hour. from the time he went missing up to when they began desperately searching for him. And how a small child could make that far of a journey without being stopped by an adult.
We then went to the school where the mother arrived about an hour and a half later - demanding to see her child. Staff approached her to inform her what had happened - but the mother persisted, shouting the boy's name, in the vain hope that he would appear. When he didn't, the grim realization hit her and she fell to the ground, wailing.
As of this evening the Ministry of Education had launched an investigation, and will be releasing a statement. Both parents declined interviews but the father - who has custody of the child - told us off camera that he feels that someone led his son to the water's edge.
The Ministry of Education issued a release just before 6:00 stating that they are currently working with the family to provide support at this time and will continue to investigate the matter to ascertain all The details.
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