Boy, 3, Rescued From Bottom of Motel Pool

A 3-year-old boy who was found Thursday on the bottom of a motel swimming pool was in stable condition after a motel guest revived him, authorities said.

Joseph Lee Hill was taken to Martin Luther Hospital in Anaheim after the 4:35 p.m. incident, and was scheduled to be transported to Childrens Hospital of Orange County for further care, hospital spokeswoman Carolyn Lewis said.

According to witnesses, Joseph’s mother, Doreen Hill, 25, of Buena Park, dived into the pool at the Ambassador Inn and pulled her son out after he was seen lying motionless on the bottom.

Several witnesses who were gathered around the pool after the incident said Joseph must have been under water for at least a minute, maybe longer, before anyone noticed that he was no longer standing on the pool steps.

“We noticed something orange at the bottom of the pool and were going to dive after it, then we realized that was the color of his shorts,” said Ukia Neforos, 10, who was at the pool with her father.

“The next thing I know (the boy’s mother) was diving in the pool,” Ukia said.

“The mother was doing all the screaming, she was hysterical,” said Ukia’s father, Sam Neforos.

As soon as Doreen Hill rescued her son, she handed him to Sam Neforos, who was standing at the edge of the pool, witnesses said. Neforos said he did not know the mother.

Neforos said he gave the child mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and pushed on his chest as the youngster’s ears began turning blue.

Ukia helped plug the boy’s nose while her father, who said he was a little unsure about the proper cardiopulmonary resuscitation procedures, was trying to revive him.

“I had to take a chance, he wasn’t breathing at all,” he said.

Minutes later, Joseph’s eyes opened up, “and then he started breathing. He was coughing up a lot of food and stuff,” Sam Neforos said.

Paramedics arrived a short while later and took the child and his mother to the hospital, he said.

The incident is under investigation by Fullerton police.