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DA: No foul play in drowning death of 7-year-old at Carson Beach last summer

Kyzr Willis's did not drown in the water off Carson Beach last summer because of any malicious action, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office says.

A boy somebody claimed to have seen with "an unknown adult male" was not Kyzr, 7, whose body was found on July 26, several hours after he was reported missing from a BCYF summer camp at the beach.

In a statement, DA Dan Conley summarized his office's investigation and findings:

The investigation, which included analysis of interviews conducted by Boston Police homicide detectives and follow-up interviews by District C-6 detectives and Suffolk prosecutors, did not yield evidence that any person deliberately or recklessly caused the child’s death. Prosecutors’ findings are consistent with those of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which last year ruled his death an accidental drowning.

The evidence established that Kyzr Willis and two young family members signed in at the Boston Center for Youth and Families Summer Youth Activities Program on the morning of July 26 and were among 56 children supervised by about 30 staff members who ranged from high school age through adulthood. At about 1:30 pm, one staffer reported, Kyzr was seen in the program’s Teen Center and was directed outside to the beach in front of the Curley Community Center. Staff reported last seeing Kyzr coming out of the water between 1:30 and 2:00. He was wearing a bright yellow bathing suit and a distinctive bright orange swim-shirt.

Between 2:15 and 2:30, lifeguards began the process of calling children out of the water At some time between 2:15 and 2:40, the first staff member reported that Kyzr Willis was missing. Lifeguards immediately began their water search protocol, and the program’s administrative coordinator called 911 at 2:49 pm. Harbor Patrol officers using a remotely-operated, camera-mounted vehicle located the child’s body in about 9 feet of water a short distance west of the breakwater between the K and L street beaches.

According to lifeguards, the tide coming in – as it was on the afternoon of July 26 – not only raises the water level in the area significantly but also makes it more difficult to swim. These facts, in conjunction with the absence of physical trauma, strongly suggest that the child made his way back into the water unbeknownst to staffers, was unable to stay afloat, and drowned.

Conley handed over his office's research to Willis's family in a meeting before releasing his statement.

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Comments

hug your kids.

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One drowning is too many. Hopefully all kids/adults will use arm swimmes in the water this summer. They help tremendously.

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You don't want those things in open water. All they provide is a false sense of security. Swimmies are dangerous unless they are being used in very specific environments. They do not prevent drowning.

They also keep kids from learning - or even being able to use proper swimming technique.

There is no substitute for supervision. If you must use something, get a proper life jacket on the kid. At least that allows for paddling around and it keeps their face out of the water.

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...just negligence.

The failure to use reasonable care to avoid consequences that threaten or harm the safety of the public and that are the foreseeable outcome of acting in a particular manner.

Criminal negligence is a statutory offense that arises primarily in situations involving the death of an innocent party as a result of the operation of a motor vehicle by a person who is under the influence of Drugs and Narcotics or alcohol. Most statutes define such conduct as criminally negligent Homicide. Unlike the tort of Negligence, in which the party who acted wrongfully is liable for damages to the injured party, a person who is convicted of criminal negligence is subject to a fine, imprisonment, or both, because of the status of the conduct as a crime.

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About the swimmies and life preservers.

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Floaties of any form are not lifesaving devices (it says so right on them) DO NOT rely on them to keep a kid alive. Do not let your kid in the water unless you are in the water with them.

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Sterns Puddle Jumper Swimmies at WalMart: $16.99
Speedo kid's swim vest at Target: $18.99

Floaties or swimmies are fine if you are in your backyard pool with your kid and interacting with them as they become comfortable with the water. If you are near open water, use a vest.

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I've seen a lot of ocean beaches (maybe they're all like this) where floating rafts and the like are not allowed, because they let people who can't swim (or can't swim well) get into the water, and then out of their depth, and then you have a problem. I live on a whitewater river, and every year as soon as it gets warm we get people in inner tubes floating down -- people who don't know the river or understand what the hazards of moving water are. Occasionally one dies in ways that are predictable and preventable, but that aren't foreseen by people who don't understand what they're dealing with.

Rivers, lakes and oceans are not water parks. "Help" is usually much too far away to save you if you get into trouble, and there is no one to shut off the ride. You should always assume that the only thing that can save you is your own skills, knowledge and judgment. It doesn't matter that you and your buds went tubing on the Buttawankis Creek once, or goofing around with boogie boards at Sandy Beach, and it was great. It doesn't matter that you're a "good swimmer" in a pool. You need to be a strong swimmer, you need to know the hazards that are particular to the type of water you're going on (undertows, rip tides, strainers, foot entrapment, etc.) and the conditions present when you go. Most of all, you need to be willing to look at the water, say "Yeah, not today," and turn around and go home. Particularly if someone who knows more than you do says "Don't do it".

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And hopefully the city no longer allows cell phones and texting while working with kids. Especially at the beach.

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story? Handsome little guy who had a smile that people won't forget.

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