DEL.ICIO.USUpdated: 3:25 p.m. March 10, 2009
Autopsy shows Henry boy, 5, drowned in sludge tank
The small water treatment facility serves the mobile home park where he lived
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
An autopsy showed drowning caused the death of a 5-year-old Henry County boy whose body was found Monday night in a sludge tank in a small water-sewage treatment facility, Henry police spokesman Capt. Jason Bolton said Tuesday afternoon.
Neighbors searched hours for Alexis Rivera. They are mystified how he got into the mini-treatment plant, which they say is privately operated and serves the Poole’s Manor mobile home community where the boy lived.
FAMILY PHOTO
Alexis Rivera
JOHN SPINK / jspink@ajc.com
A lone teddy bear was placed near the padlocked gate of the sludge pond where the body of 5-year-old Alexis Rivera was found late Monday night.
JOHN SPINK / jspink@ajc.com
The sludge pond area as it looked Tuesday morning where the body of 5-year-old Alexis Rivera was found late Monday night.
Rivera was last seen around 3:30 p.m. Monday playing with friends, said Bolton. His parents called police around 6:30, Bolton said.
Neighbors looked for the boy but did not think he would be in the treatment area, which is across a busy two-lane road and behind two fences — one of them with barbed wire on top.
“We looked everywhere for him and we never dreamed he’d be in there,” said resident Bonita Crews. She did not know Rivera’s family but had seen the child around the community, which is in a rural area a couple of miles south of the Henry-DeKalb line.
Steven Haywood, manager of the mobile home park, said there had never been a problem with kids going into the treatment area. He theorized that the boy was drawn by the sound of water and, after somehow gaining access, may have thought the sludge on the top of the tanks was mud and could be walked on.
“My quote is … know where your child is,” Haywood said.
Members of the Henry Fire Department’s hazardous materials team suited up to search the sludge tank and discovered the boy’s body about 11:30 p.m., Bolton said.
Bolton described the tank as a “sludge digester.”
The body was found about 120 feet from the boy’s bicycle, which had been found in the early stages of the search, which involved about 100 public safety personnel from several agencies.
Kevin Chambers, a spokesman for the Environmental Protection Division, which regulates the facilities, said the plant passed inspection Dec. 12.
“During a routine inspection, no violations were noted,” Chambers said. “They had the required fencing and signage indicating it to be a waste water treatment facility.”
Neighbors plan a vigil Thursday evening to remember the boy.
— Staff writer Christian Boone contributed to this article.
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