Family Remembers 5 Year Old Who Died After Falling Into Icy Pond

A family gathered on Monday to celebrate the short life of a boy who died after falling into icy water in east Columbus last week.

Just a day after Elijah Walker passed away, his family returned to the spot where the boy fell into the pond near the Eastland on the Lakes apartment complex.

“This is his hair, the pieces of his hair – that’s all I have left of him,” mother Tatiana Walker said on Monday. “The worst feeling ever as I watched my son, my baby. I watched the whole thing.”

James Jenkins, 30, also died after jumping into the icy pond to try to save Elijah Walker. Jenkins died about an hour after being pulled from the pond.

Walker passed away Sunday night at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

The boy’s father said he was heartbroken.

“I lay in bed with him until everything was just dead,” father Lorenzo Butler said. “His lungs went down all the way.”

The family was comforted by loved ones on Monday as they remembered how special the young boy was.

“He has three drum sets, basketball and loved to play the Wii,” Butler said.

No funeral date has been set for Elijah’s funeral.

Managers at the apartment complex said that they did not want to comment on the two deaths.

Franklin County Children Services said that they were investigating the boy’s death as protocol.

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Previous Stories:

February 10, 2013: Boy Pulled From Southeast Columbus Pond Dies
February 7, 2013: Columbus First Responders Discuss Dangerous Water Rescue Attempt