Boy, 4, and sister, 3, drown in pond in Lake Hughes area

Two young siblings drowned in a shallow pond in the Lake Hughes area, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday.

Authorities went to the 43100 block of Lake Hughes Road at about 6:55 p.m. Monday. The children — a 4-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl — were airlifted to a hospital, where they died, the sheriff’s department reported. Their names have not been released.

“Detectives later learned the children were last seen playing in the yard of the location,” a sheriff’s department statement said. “When the mother went to call them into the residence, she noticed the children were missing and began searching for them. The mother located them inside a shallow pond which was within a close proximity to the residence.”

Sheriff’s Lt. Charles Calderaro told Fox11 that the boy died at about 9 p.m. and the girl died about two hours later. Calderaro said deputies initially went to the location on a report that the children were missing.

“When they arrived, they discovered that the mother and a neighbor had located the children in a small pond located near the property,” Calderaro said. “They noticed that the children were unresponsive. They immediately began CPR, paramedics were summoned to the location, they continued lifesaving efforts, and ultimately the young children were airlifted to the hospital.”

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about the drowning was asked to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can be called in to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or submitted online at lacrimestoppers.org.

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