Texas boy drowns on 3rd birthday while visiting family in Ohio, sheriff says. ‘Tragic’

A boy was visiting family on a trip to Ohio when he drowned on his birthday, officials say.

Austin Smith, who lived in Burkburnett, Texas, had just turned 3 years old on Friday when he was found floating in a pond in Auglaize County in northwestern Ohio.

He was visiting family there for the weekend, officials said in a Monday news release.

CPR was performed on Austin until first responders arrived at the home and rushed him to a hospital in Lima, where he was pronounced dead, officials say.

The Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office said the drowning is under investigation. Officials did not release the circumstances leading up to the death.

“No foul play is suspected as this was a tragic accident that remains under investigation,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

Burkburnett is a city of about 10,000 north of Wichita Falls.

This story was originally published June 21, 2021 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Texas boy drowns on 3rd birthday while visiting family in Ohio, sheriff says. ‘Tragic’."