January 28, 2011
Gary Davidson
Public Information Office

4-YEAR-OLD BOY DROWNS IN SWIMMING POOL

A 4-year-old boy drowned in a backyard swimming pool late Friday afternoon in Deltona. The incident occurred at 600 E. Normandy Blvd. A passing Volusia County Sheriff’s deputy who was on patrol in the area was flagged down at about 4:41 p.m. and told that the boy, Jordan Ugaldea, was missing. He didn’t live at the house, but his father was doing work at the residence and had brought his son with him. The boy apparently slipped out of sight and when the homeowner showed up at the house, he flagged down the deputy.

Deputies immediately initiated a search of the residence and the surrounding neighborhood and called in K-9 units and a Sheriff’s Office helicopter for assistance. The search led deputies to the pool in the backyard, but the toddler wasn’t visible in the murky water. At about 4:56 p.m., using a pole, deputies felt along the bottom of the pool for the child and then jumped in to the water to bring the boy up to the surface and begin attempts to resuscitate him.

The child was unresponsive as he was transported by EVAC ambulance to Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City, where he was pronounced dead. The Sheriff’s Office is investigating.