A 19-month-old boy drowned Friday night in a lake behind a home on Boabadilla Street in Naples, leaving his father heartbroken.
Collier County deputies are investigating the drowning of a toddler in Naples Friday night. At around 9:53 p.m., North Collier Fire, Naples Fire Rescue, and Collier County EMS crews responded to the scene on Boabadilla Street, just east of US-41 across from Park Shore.
The new chilling 911 call captured the family's desperate efforts to resuscitate the toddler, Victor Rico.
The operator guided the family through CPR, counting out loud as the caller attempted to revive the child. "Let the chest come up all the way between the pumps. I can count with you, OK?" the operator instructed. The caller, crying, counted, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10..."
The child's father, also named Victor Rico, spoke with NBC-2 but said he is not ready to go on camera as he tries to process the loss of his son.
Rico shared pictures of his son and said he dropped him off at his mother's house on Wednesday. When he tried to call Friday to pick him up, there was no answer. Rico later learned that his son had drowned in the lake behind his mother's house.
The circumstances of how the toddler ended up in the lake remain unclear. During the 911 call, someone mentioned, "He was in the back porch."
The official report states that the incident was "drug involved" and that the Department of Children and Families was contacted.
Collier County Sheriff's Office has not provided further details on whether drugs were found at the scene, but they confirmed that this is an ongoing investigation.