Child Drownings for ’86 May Show ‘Alarming’ Rise

Sheriff’s Department statistics on child drownings showed Monday that four more children have already drowned this year than drowned during all of 1985.

Through mid-September of this year, 18 children under 7 years old drowned in Orange County, said Sheriff’s Lt. Richard J. Olson.

“In looking over the statistics, we felt that there’s going to be an alarming increase over last year,” Olson said. “We’re trying to point out that more precaution needs to be taken as far as children around swimming pools is concerned.”

Of the 18 child drownings this year, 12 have occurred in swimming pools, three in spas, two in bathtubs and one in a lake, the Sheriff’s Department said.

To reduce the chances of a drowning death, Olson said, “the obvious answers are fences around pools, swimming lessons at a very young age, and never leave a child unattended in or around water.”