COLUMBUS, Ohio — Residents at the Whispering Oaks Apartments in north Columbus are pushing for change in the city code after a 4-year-old girl was found dead in a retention pond Saturday.
The retention pond at the apartment complex is surrounded by rocks, but no fence and according to city code, fencing for ponds is not required. Residents would like the city to reconsider after Esther Mutivito was discovered in a pond Saturday.
"At first instinct, the kids see some water they are wanting to go for that water it should be fenced in," said Monica Burke of north Columbus.
"I think they should drain the water and cover up the pond because there's no point of the pond being there," said Martyonna Williams a resident of Whispering Oaks Apartments.
Management was not available to respond to concerns due to the Labor Day holiday.
Mutivito was reported missing Friday around 2:50 p.m. from the area of Belcher Drive and Dresden Street, according to the Columbus Division of Police.
She was discovered nearly 24 hours later at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday in the area of Belcher Drive and Dresden Street.
Police have not released a cause of death or mentioned whether foul play was involved.
Last month, a 10-year-old boy with autism died after drowning in a retention pond behind some homes in Pataskala.
According to Safe Kids Worldwide and Nationwide's Make Safe Happen:
Drowning is the number one cause of injury and death for children 1-4 years of age. It is the second leading cause of injury and death for children 5-14 years of age and the third leading cause of injury and death for children 15-19 years of age, as well as for children under 1.
An estimated 1,000 children drown in a single year, 70 percent of them between May and August.
Most children in the U.S. drown in open water, a term that includes natural bodies of water (lakes, rivers, oceans) and man-made bodies of water (canals, reservoirs, retention ponds). In 2016, open water drownings made up 43 percent of fatal childhood drownings, compared to 38 percent in pools, 9 percent in bathtubs and 10 percent unspecified.