Baby Who Drowned In Dona Ana County Identified
The child who drowned Wednesday at his residence has been identified by Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Investigators as 10-month-old Jessie Garcia.
Preliminary autopsy reports indicate there were no injuries of a suspicious nature.
According to Sheriff’s Investigators, the mother of the child while washing clothes, left the room for approximately three minutes and when she returned, discovered her child face down in a five gallon paint bucket containing water and laundry detergent.
The child’s mother immediately called 911, while the child’s grandparents attempted to perform CPR. The investigation is on-going.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission reports of over 275 young children who have drowned in buckets since 1984. Over 30 other children have been hospitalized. Almost all containers were 5-gallon buckets containing liquids. Most were used for mopping floors or other household chores. Many were less than half full.
