GREENVILLE, South Carolina — South Carolina law enforcement said they found the body of a missing 8-year-old boy in a pond on Thursday. Officials said he went missing from an elementary school near the pond.
Deputies from the Greenville County Sheriff's Office said the body, belonging to Lionel Ramirez Cervantes, was found around 3 p.m. the day he was reported missing.
He was last seen earlier that day at Bell's Crossing Elementary School. Greenville County Schools said Ramirez Cervantes was in class with three staff members and two other students when he ran out of the room -- later the building.
School officials said he then ran off school property. According to the district, staff members ran after Ramirez Cervantes but lost him when he ran into a field of grass.
Four hours later his body was found by a dive team in a nearby pond. No information is currently available about how he got there.
“A lot of broken hearts in the school and this community today,” said Sheriff Hobart Lewis. “We want to thank this community that came out to look for this young man. We had numerous volunteers show up try to help search the woods to locate him.”
Law enforcement agencies, along with community members, teamed up to look for Ramirez Cervantes in nearby neighborhoods.
Dr. Burke Royster, Greenville County Schools Superintendent, said counselors would be available to students at Bell's Crossing Elementary during this difficult time.
“This was our worst fear today, and we are grieving as a community,” Chris Ross, the principal of Bell’s Crossing Elementary School said. “We are devastated to lose one of our children. We will bind together with the support of the district. It’s a tragedy we can’t make sense over.”
Law enforcement said there's no indication that charges will be filed in this case.
