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Body of boy missing from Carson Beach found in water
By adamg on Tue, 07/26/2016 - 4:01pm
Troopers search water around 4 p.m. Photo by James.
Updated, 8:20 p.m.
WBZ reports police this evening found the body of Kyzr Willis in the water off Carson Beach.
The boy was last seen around 2:05 p.m. near the M Street bathhouse.
State and Boston police launched a massive search that included helicopters and boats and tracking dogs and officers called in from other parts of the city, who looked for him on nearby beaches and as far away as a Dorchester bowling alley.
The Boston Police homicide unit is now investigating his death, as is routine with all unexplained deaths in Boston.
In a statement, Mayor Walsh said:
The City of Boston is devastated to learn of the tragic loss of Kyzr Willis, and I will be working closely with Boston Centers for Youth and Families and the Boston Police Department until we know exactly what happened. My heart is broken for the Willis family and my thoughts and prayers will be with them.
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Comments
Prayers!
n/t
Tragic news!
I was hoping he had wandered off...Poor family!
Hope they find the little guy
Hope they find the little guy safe and sound.
Fingers crossed
I'm hoping that he went to a friend's house or just found a cool shady napping spot.
Sad News
From Tim Caputo of WHDH:
Very sad update to missing boy story. Family has just been told he's been found dead in the water. BPD to hold press conference in minutes.
My heart breaks for the parents.
Very sad news
Indeed.
Between the heat wave and the lifeguard shortage, I had a bad feeling that this was going to happen.
Not at all surprised
I am a longtime aquatics professional, and I work with camps every summer. (Please note I have NEVER worked with BCYF programming in any way, shape, or form and therefore am unqualified to comment on their programming.)
Every summer, I meet with the camp leaders and explain to them the safety rules. I stress the importance of buddy checks, keeping kids in designated areas, keeping kids away from the water if they are not swimming, having an adequate number of counselors actively supervising the kids instead of texting or taking breaks, obeying the lifeguard at all times, keeping kids in the designated swimming areas appropriate to their swim levels, et cetera.
And every summer, the camp leaders argue with me, trying to convince me to open swimming facilities with inadequate supervision, that buddy checks are a waste of time, that the counselors are on break and don't have to watch the kids, that I should just falsify the swim test results so everyone is equal. They badger and hector lifeguards; they threaten to go over our heads to get us to bend the rules; they openly direct children to disregard what we are saying; they are blatantly insubordinate when lifeguards enforce rules; they threaten to take their camps to facilities that won't make them follow any rules.
It is pure luck and good fortune that accidents like this do not happen more often.
Most of the teens that are
Most of the teens that are hired to work at these summer camps are not trained to do so. Something needs to change and it is awful that this had to happen for things to change.
Better training for these adolescents hired as councilors for
camps like this is badly needed, and so are experienced adult overseers, who are also 18 and over.
BCYF is different
I'm glad you qualified your remarks that you have not worked with BCYF. I'm sorry for your issues with your camps. You should not have that kind of an issue - ever.
I do and have worked with BCYF facilities.
The State has a user-to-lifeguard ratio of 22:1 but BCYF (City of Boston) has a 20:1 ratio which is a little stricter. They also employ full-time lifeguards and also augment their summer pool staff with part-time older-teens who have passed a lifeguard certification course, so in some regards BCYF pools are over-staffed in summer months. They are also strict about the ratios and when necessary will rotate time in and out of the pool, which by the way includes the deck area.
Summer camp programs require a license and that may be governed by city or state regulations. I do not have experience with city license but at the state level they also have strict child-to-staff ratios of at least 13:1. BCYF also augments their summer programs, either their own or those operated by a vendor in residence, with additional teen camp counselors which raises the ratio substantially. So along with lifeguards you also have additional adult and teen staffers.
For what its worth, state licensed programs require a full CORI check be done by any and all staff in such a program, but despite that BCYF also requires that THEY DO their own CORI if you are resident in one of their buildings, so staff is run through the CORI check twice.
So I'd venture an educated guess that this facility and program was well-staffed.
This appears to be a sad situation where the child managed to wander off despite all of that. That's why we use the word "accident."
The fact that facility is closed today for the investigative process speaks to their concern. BCYF is quite thorough with investigations of this nature. Each staff person will be individually interviewed by BCYF and the police so that a full picture can be developed. If any action has to be taken there will be recommendations made.
For what its worth, any BCYF pool that I have ever dealt with does not tolerate what you have described, at least in my personal experience with the few I have had experience. Such a camp as you have described will be told, 'thanks for coming, don't come back next year.'
God bless the poor child and his family in this very difficult time.
As a mom with a kid who will attend a different BCYF camp
I really appreciate this post. I always read about the ratios camps use and you do your homework and use your judgement - but - Lord.
We've gone to another BCYF pool and found the lifeguards numerous and incredibly attentive.
What a horrible nightmare for everyone involved.
I'm glad you've always had
I'm glad you've always had good experiences with your camp!
I'd like to add that all of the camps I had issues with were well-known organizations with excellent reputations, who advertised strict safety regulations to the parents as a selling point. On paper, to the public, they were always happy to preach safety and rules and ratios. Once the parents were out of sight, it was a whole different story.
So if you're a parent, what the camp is telling you and what is actually happening may be two very different things.
R.I.P. Kyzr
R.I.P. young man. So sad. Condolences to his loved ones.
God bless his parents. My
God bless his parents. My heart and prayers go out to all who knew and loved this beautiful little boy.