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Highlands Today

UPDATE:Baby Dies In Venus Drowning

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By Joe  Seelig | Highlands Today

Published: November 14, 2007

A 15-month-old baby was pronounced dead Monday at Tampa General Hospital after he was pulled from a creek in Venus, said Highlands County Sheriff's Lt. Keith Starling.

The baby, Malachi Walker, was found sometime around 6 p.m. Sunday in a nearby creek, near 325 Price Road, Starling said. Someone pulled the child out.

"He was thought to have been submerged about 10 minutes," Starling said. The creek was about 45 yards from where the family was gathered.

Details around how the child ended up in the water were sketchy.

A family member started to administered CPR and when deputies arrived they took over, then Highlands County Emergency Medical Services personnel continued.

The baby was transported by EMS to Florida Hospital Lake Placid and was airlifted Sunday to Tampa in critical condition.

The child was pronounced dead around 2:15 a.m., said Sheriff's Lt. John Chess with the Criminal Investigations Unit. The boy's body has been taken to the Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death, said Chess.

There was absolutely no evidence of foul play, Chess added. The case was under investigation by the Criminal Investigations Unit, Starling said.

— JOE SEELIG

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