Missing 3-year-old drowns 120 yards off the shore of Lake Erie, Pennsylvania cops say

A 3-year-old boy died on Saturday, May 21, after he was discovered in Lake Erie, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

State police were sent to an area around the lake in Harborcreek Township around 5 p.m. Saturday for reports of a missing child, according to a news release. Troopers were joined in their search by members of the Fairfield Hose Volunteer Fire Department, Coast Guard and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, whose members ultimately found the boy.

Members of the commission found the boy about 120 yards off the shore of the lake, and after he was taken by a boat back to land, medical personnel began life-saving measures on him, according to state police. He was taken to a hospital in Erie, where troopers say he died at 6:50 p.m.

Erie County Deputy Coroner John Maloney said there were no signs of foul play and he ruled the death as accidental, state police said.

The 3-year-old went missing when he wandered away from a relative who was babysitting him, the Erie Times-News reported.

The name of the boy has not been publicly disclosed.

Harborcreek Township is about 135 miles north of Pittsburgh.

This story was originally published May 23, 2022 at 11:55 AM with the headline "Missing 3-year-old drowns 120 yards off the shore of Lake Erie, Pennsylvania cops say."