Does anyone know anything about this? It sounds like the child was under county protection and somehow got to the lake. Sounds like an awful thing for everyone involved.


https://www.alexcityoutlook.com/new...7f758a0-a992-11ee-8e8b-bb17594b5165.html

Absolutely horrible.

Sounds like the child was in a temporary shelter situation and you have to ask, how could that have happened on the first night in shelter? Gonna be bad for somebody or somebodies.

I'm surprised that nobody on aldeer knows about it. This is all just speculation on my part, but it sounds like one of the parents got arrested and the county took the child. I guess they would have sent him to a foster home, and I guess it just happened to be someone who lives near the lake. I don't know any other way it could have happened, but maybe I am wrong.

Usually in emergency situations like that DHR has some emergency shelters that they can place a child until a foster home or other responsible relative (first choice) can be found, if needed. Remember, under the Hatch Consent Decree, the State's first obligation is to get the child back in the home and to take custody away to be placed in a foster home, DHR would require a judge's ruling. Now LE can take custody of the child without a judge's ruling if it is deemed that the child is in imminent danger. A drunk or high parent in the pokie would qualify as imminent if no other relative can be located. It sounds to me to be a temporary emergency shelter situation. Maybe like an orphanage on the Lake. We often had to use the Methodist Childrens Home in Selma in this capacity, often just overnight. Some foster homes can be used as emergency shelters though. Whatever, bad deal though, and now because of some parent's criminality and stupidity, the state is going to end up paying them because their child is dead. I wish this were a case where common sense would reign and someone could tell the parents "Sorry that a child died and yes, DHR screwed up and yes, the emergency shelter screwed up, but neither of them would have been in a place to screw up if you hadn't started the chain of screw ups."

Thanks for the clarification; I tend to think of how things were done in a small county long ago, so most of what I know is probably obsolete. It's a terrible tragedy, whatever the exact circumstances.

The child was in the car of a high speed pursuit which was finally stopped at the 280 River Bridge supposedly. The child was placed by social services to a family in Bay Pines area.

Oh wow. Just when you think a story can’t get any sadder.

There’s no “good” answer in child protective situations. I have two cousins that were both DHR workers and removed children from bad situations. Both cousins don’t have three brain cells between them. I know an overzealous cop that has talked about removing children from bad spots but yet has had DHR investigate her as well. I wouldn’t trust her judgement a bit. I know a couple that are foster parents, as well as well as emergency foster parents. They couldn’t grab their own butts with both hands. I don’t trust the whole system one bit. All that said, there are some really good foster parents as well. Two that I know of are members here that ended up adopting. I trust both of those guys 100%.

The ones I know personally who are foster parents are good, salt of the earth folks, but I know there are many out there who just do it for the extra funds they get every month.

And, I absolutely agree with you the two on here you are probably talking about, although I think there may be a couple more on here as well who have fostered and/or adopted.

That story is heartbreaking.

Unfortunately, I know of a family that lost a young child to drowning - it only takes minutes without your eyes and attention being on the child for a tragedy to happen.