SAN ANTONIO — Jeremiah Turner of Natalia, Texas, was known as a bright, adventurous boy.
At 5 years old, he'd already mastered the ABCs and counting all the way to 100.
On March 10, Jeremiah disappeared from his grandmother's backyard. Minutes later, his family made a tragic discovery.
Jeremiah drowned in a neighbor's pool.
"The people who live on the back of that property, they didn't have their pool locked," said Jeremiah's mother, Christie Lyons.
When Lyons visits her mother in Atascosa, she says her two children always play in the backyard. A short distance away is a neighbor's below-ground swimming pool.
"For years it was locked. For years the fences were up, so we had no worries in our mind that he would ever find that," Lyons explained.
On March 10, the family lost sight of Jeremiah in his grandmother's yard.
"He was autistic and he loved to play. He loved to explore everywhere," said Lyons, who called Jeremiah their "Golden Boy." "He was always jumping and running in circles and yelling. He was really beautiful. He lit up the world. He touched many people."
Minutes after realizing he'd gone missing, Jeremiah's grandmother found him.
"Andrew ran over there and he pulled him from the water," said Lyons, referring to Jeremiah's father, Andrew Turner.
For two hours, paramedics tried to revive Jeremiah.
"We took him to the hospital, got his heartbeat back. They lost it. They got it back again," said Lyons. "They had no hope in Jeremiah. We believe in God. We're very faithful and we said, 'Jeremiah's got this. He's a strong little boy.'"
On March 14, his little heart couldn't fight anymore.
"He became brain-dead," said Lyons. "It was really hard to lose our baby."
Now, these two parents are in a world of grief as they plan a funeral for their oldest child.
"When I've trained law enforcement, I tell them when a child with autism goes missing, your first place you want to check is any body of water," said Pamela Allen, CEO of Eagle's Flight Advocacy & Outreach.
Allen, whose son is autistic, educates families about water safety.
"The leading cause of death for children with autism is drowning, and for some reason the water just calls to them," Allen explained. "They can hear the water. They are hypersensitive. They have sensory issues, of course, but their hearing is just amazing. So when they hear water, they're drawn to it."
According to the National Autism Association, in 2009, 2010 and 2011, accidental drowning accounted for 91% of total deaths in the U.S. reported in children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) ages 14 and younger subsequent to wandering/elopement.
Every summer for the past nine years, Allen has worked to make a dent in that statistic by hosting water safety lessons for those with autism.
While the drowning statistics contributed to her motivation to start the classes, Allen's son's experiences with water also played a critical role.
"My son was very low-functioning and nonverbal. Many times we would have to fish him out of pools, lakes. He would just throw himself in and we never understood why. He was nonverbal and couldn't tell us," said Allen. "There would even be water fountains in malls that he would jump into, and we didn't know the connection. We just knew that that was a very dangerous thing."
Allen says once her son was able to communicate near the age of eight, he shared his reasons for being drawn to water.
"Autism is a neurological impairment, and that impairment means that they have spatial awareness issues. They can't feel where they are in their place," she explained. "So when he told me, 'I know where I'm at,' that meant the pressure of the water was helping him to feel better."
Lyons is pleading with families of autistic children to teach them to swim.
"We took [Jeremiah] to the beach one time and he was scared because the water moved. He was scared of everything," said Lyons. "We never wanted to take him to the swimming pool. We never really introduced him to that and we regret it."
She also asks pool owners to be responsible.
"You don't know who your neighbor is," said Lyons. "You don't know if it's a little boy like Jeremiah."
Allen also recommends families with autistic children get to know their environment. For example, learn if any neighbors have a swimming pool and where the nearest body of water is located.
"What we all can take away from this is to educate yourself about children with autism and water safety, and make sure that your child is going to be educated in this as well," said Allen. "It's a matter of life and death."
In August, Lyons is expecting her third child—a girl who will be named Miah (pronounced Mya). The name is a tribute to her older brother, Jeremiah.
Services for Jeremiah Turner will be March 29-30 at Mission Park South, located at 1700 Southeast Military Drive in San Antonio.
According to Allen, Morgan's Wonderland Owner and local philanthropist Gordon Hartman has pledged a $5,000 donation to help cover Jeremiah's funeral expenses. To help the family pay for funeral expenses, you can donate on their GoFundMe page or you can donate to Lyons's CashApp at $cchristiee05.
Water safety classes by Eagles Flight Advocacy & Outreach can be found on their website eaglesflightsa.com.
Safe Splash Swim School has area locations that also offer swimming lessons for those with autism and special needs. To learn more about where you can find water safety classes, click here.
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