Autistic boy, seven, is found dead in pond a day after running away… prompting police to make a sinister discovery in his home

The body of a seven-year-old autistic non-verbal boy from Florida was found in a lake a day after he ran away from home, prompting officials to make a sinister discovery.

Charles “Charlie” Newton had just arrived home with his parents in the 1400 block of Stillwater Avenue after buying pizza on Nov. 25 when he suddenly got out of the car.

Despite his mother’s attempt to grab him, he was too fast and managed to get away from her.

The panicked mother called 911 at 8.07pm after completely losing sight of him two houses away.

“My son, he just left, he’s autistic, he’s non-verbal. “I came home with the pizzas, I grabbed him and he just took off,” the distraught mother said. News magazine online a 911 dispatcher.

At 8:09 p.m., surveillance cameras captured footage of the child running through Firefighters Memorial Park on Lombardy Drive, passing a fire station next to the park and then running toward a lake near a hill on Waterfall Circle.

The first deputy arrived at their family home at 8:12 p.m. and an overnight manhunt was launched with two helicopters, three police dogs, drones from three police agencies and 140 law enforcement officers in tow.

However, the search came to an end after a neighbor called 911 around 10 a.m. to report possibly seeing a body in Lake Lapanocia in the 730 block of Waterfall Circle, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood confirmed.

Charles ‘Charlie’ Newton, 7, an autistic nonverbal Floridian was found dead in a pond a day after running away from his home

Charlie was discovered around 10 a.m. by a neighbor in Lake Lapanocia in the 730 block of Waterfall Circle

At 8:09 p.m., surveillance cameras captured footage of the child running through the Firefighters Memorial Park on Lombardy Drive (pictured), passing a fire station next to the park and then running toward a lake near a hill on Waterfall Circle.

“A while ago this morning a neighbor called and said he thought what he saw was a body in the lake.

“Our deputies seized a kayak and went out there and our victim was found,” Sheriff Chitwood said during a news conference.

Officials had previously shared on Facebook that Charlie was “drawn to Christmas lights as well as bodies of water and was known to climb trees.”

During a subsequent search of the boy’s home as part of the investigation, officers noted that the property was ‘in a state of disarray’.

According to the incident report, officers found cockroaches, minimal food and no clean clothes in the home.

All three of the couple’s children reportedly slept on “dirty” mattresses in one bedroom.

In addition, police noted that the refrigerator was chained and the bathroom was guarded by a biometric lock.

It was revealed that the house had a major cockroach infestation, minimal food for all three children in the house, no obvious clean clothes, all the children shared a small bedroom with dirty mattresses on the floor, the refrigerator was chained shut and the only bathroom at the residents was locked via a biometric lock that was only accessible to (the parents),” the report said Fox 35 Orlando.

Officials had previously revealed that Charlie was “attracted to Christmas lights as well as bodies of water and was known to climb trees.”

During a subsequent search of the boy’s home in the 1400 block of Stillwater Avenue as part of the investigation, officers noted that the property was “in a state of disarray.”

When asked why the accident happened, the sheriff said during the conference: “Here we are again, a week later, and a little boy has drowned. An autistic child has drowned. And I don’t have the answers, and none of us have the answers about how to prevent this from happening to another family.”

Officials then notified Florida’s Department of Child and Families — who, after careful review, deemed the home unsafe for the other two children, also believed to be on the autism spectrum.

When asked why the accident happened, the sheriff said during the conference: “Here we are again, a week later, and a little boy has drowned. An autistic child has drowned. And I don’t have the answers, and none of us have the answers about how to prevent this from happening to another family.”

He also revealed that his agency is working with Halifax Health Medical Center, Easter Seals and the DCF to identify families with autistic children and provide them with assistance.

“(We need) to find a way to give them technology and try to introduce these kids to water because it’s a known fact that autistic kids love water and they go to water,” Chitwood said.

No charges have yet been filed in connection with Charlie’s disappearance, death or in connection with the alleged conditions at the home.

It remains unclear whether the couple’s other two children still live in the ‘unsafe’ house.