Toddler vanishes from mom and is found face down in water, cops say. But there’s hope

A toddler nearly drowned after running off from his mother and siblings outside their rural Minnesota home, authorities say.

The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office said the mother was outside with her three young children Tuesday, April 30, when she realized her 1-and-a-half-year-year-old child was no longer by her side.

She began looking for the toddler and found him behind their Vergas property “floating face down in the water,” the sheriff’s office said. The area had recently been dry, but a recent rainfall led to an area of water more than 4 feet deep.

First responders arrived and provided care to the child, who authorities said was conscious when he was taken to a hospital for treatment.

His condition as of Thursday, May 1, is unknown.

Vergas is in western Minnesota about a 60-mile drive southeast of Fargo, North Dakota.