Boy, 12, drowns in Middleborough pond
MIDDLEBOROUGH — A 12-year-old Rhode Island boy drowned while swimming with other children in a local pond yesterday afternoon.
According to the Fire Department, the boy, who was not identified, jumped off a dock at Tispaquin Pond at about 4 p.m. and followed other children into a deeper part of the pond, past the swim buoys and beyond the area where his feet could touch the bottom.
Two off-duty firefighters were in the area when they were called to the scene.
They arrived within three minutes and teamed up with campers to look for the boy, the Middleborough Fire Department said in a statement.
“Everyone in the campground was in the water looking for him, but they couldn’t find him,’’ said Barbara Holton, who owns Tispaquin Family Camping, a campground near the pond.
“The water was too murky,’’ she said.
Holton said the boy was with other children and might have tried to grab onto them as he struggled in the deeper water.
She said the other children called out for help.
Middleborough, Bridgewater, and Lakeville fire department dive teams responded and located the boy about a half-hour later, and he was flown to Children’s Hospital Boston.
The pond has no lifeguards. Signs are posted saying, “No lifeguards. Swim at your own risk.’’
Police said the boy was from Providence and was visiting his extended family. Holton said the boy’s mother had been notified and was headed to Boston last night.
Globe correspondent George Rizer contributed to this report. John M. Guilfoil can be reached at jguilfoil@globe.com. 
