Mennonite Boy Drowns in Manure Pit

A little boy died after drowning in a manure pit on his family's farm, according to New Holland police.

Josiah Martin's mother found her 4-year-old son face-down Saturday in the pit. She pulled him out and called 911. Josiah was pronounced dead at the scene.

"The mother speculated that the child was maybe attempting to retrieve a dog that wandered onto the ice," Officer Troy Deshong told the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era. The liquid in the manure pit -- which is about 42 feet in diameter and eight feet deep -- was partially frozen.

No one knew how the little boy got past the chain-link fence that surrounds the pit on the family's Mennonite farm. No autopsy was planned.

"The manner of death is accidental. The cause of death is drowning. It was a tragic accident," said Chief Deputy Coroner Eric Bieber.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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