05-03-2005, 09:10 AM
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar.../505030451
Search for boy ends in sorrow at nearby pond
Autistic 7-year-old missing since cookout was drawn to water, family friends say.
By Richard D. Walton
richard.walton@indystar.com
May 3, 2005
Water fascinated David Samuel Kern. Leave the 7-year-old autistic boy alone for a moment, and he went looking for it, family friends say.
Now, it appears, that's what he did when he disappeared Sunday afternoon.
At 9:15 a.m. Monday, police divers found the missing boy's body in a retention pond near his Southeastside neighborhood.
The discovery of one of David's toys led divers to the body, which was found in about 6 feet of water, about 10 feet from shore.
"Right now, it just looks like he wandered off," said Marion County Sheriff's Capt. Phil Burton.
While the death appears to be an accident, Burton said, an autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause and time of death.
There had been an intense search for the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy nicknamed "Bubby." The son of Todd and Mary Kern -- the younger of their two children -- went missing at a cookout a few houses down from his home in the 3400 block of Capsella Lane in Franklin Township.
Louis Hawkins Jr. was among the hundreds of area residents who scoured the area for David. He was there Monday as Lt. John Medvescek, an Indianapolis Fire Department diver, found the body.
"It was terrible," Hawkins said. "We still had hope."
After the body was recovered, David's tearful mother, a yellow blanket draped over her shoulders, was comforted by friends and loved ones.
Witnesses, including some who never knew David, wept as they stared into the rippling pond.
Family friends described David as a sickly child who had a playful streak despite frequent seizures and other health problems.
David's parents were too distraught to talk Monday morning. Dan McDonald, music pastor at the Kerns' church, the Indianapolis Baptist Temple, said that just last week he was helping David's mother do some painting when he looked over to see David pitching in.
"He was just dipping his fingers in the paint and just kind of painting the walls with his fingers."
Though David had the mental capacity of a 3- to 6-month-old and could not speak, he sometimes hummed, McDonald said.
"Most people would call it obnoxious noise, but I call it a song. He sung that song quite often. And now he's singing it to God the Father."
Added McDonald's wife, Laurie, as she cried: "Sometimes you'd call his name, and he'd look at you just like nothing was wrong with him."
This wasn't the first time David had wandered off, she said.
"He's gotten out several times before, and we found him around in the neighborhood. Usually, Mom catches him as soon as he walks out of the house."
This time, David was playing in a fenced-in back yard when the other children at the cookout returned to the house. Mary Kern noticed David was missing and went to look for him.
The search, which involved firefighters and police, was conducted over a 5-mile radius of where the boy disappeared. Helicopters, using infrared cameras, took part in the effort.
The boy was drawn to water. Sometimes he splashed his hands in the toilet. He had been known to overflow the bathtub.
Monday morning, Jennifer Hickerson and Sherri Goodwin stood outside the Kern home and talked about the boy they knew.
"He loved the water," Hickerson said. "If he got outside, that's immediately where he would go."
Added Goodwin: "He was just a good little kid."
A neighbor, Rhonda Johnson, grieved with the rest of the neighborhood Monday. "Kids just drown in ponds," she lamented.
Johnson baby-sits an autistic child and knows they can be a handful. Autism is a mental disorder characterized by an inability to communicate and interact socially.
"They'll run," Johnson said. "You just never know what they're going to do."
Search for boy ends in sorrow at nearby pond
Autistic 7-year-old missing since cookout was drawn to water, family friends say.
By Richard D. Walton
richard.walton@indystar.com
May 3, 2005
Water fascinated David Samuel Kern. Leave the 7-year-old autistic boy alone for a moment, and he went looking for it, family friends say.
Now, it appears, that's what he did when he disappeared Sunday afternoon.
At 9:15 a.m. Monday, police divers found the missing boy's body in a retention pond near his Southeastside neighborhood.
The discovery of one of David's toys led divers to the body, which was found in about 6 feet of water, about 10 feet from shore.
"Right now, it just looks like he wandered off," said Marion County Sheriff's Capt. Phil Burton.
While the death appears to be an accident, Burton said, an autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause and time of death.
There had been an intense search for the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy nicknamed "Bubby." The son of Todd and Mary Kern -- the younger of their two children -- went missing at a cookout a few houses down from his home in the 3400 block of Capsella Lane in Franklin Township.
Louis Hawkins Jr. was among the hundreds of area residents who scoured the area for David. He was there Monday as Lt. John Medvescek, an Indianapolis Fire Department diver, found the body.
"It was terrible," Hawkins said. "We still had hope."
After the body was recovered, David's tearful mother, a yellow blanket draped over her shoulders, was comforted by friends and loved ones.
Witnesses, including some who never knew David, wept as they stared into the rippling pond.
Family friends described David as a sickly child who had a playful streak despite frequent seizures and other health problems.
David's parents were too distraught to talk Monday morning. Dan McDonald, music pastor at the Kerns' church, the Indianapolis Baptist Temple, said that just last week he was helping David's mother do some painting when he looked over to see David pitching in.
"He was just dipping his fingers in the paint and just kind of painting the walls with his fingers."
Though David had the mental capacity of a 3- to 6-month-old and could not speak, he sometimes hummed, McDonald said.
"Most people would call it obnoxious noise, but I call it a song. He sung that song quite often. And now he's singing it to God the Father."
Added McDonald's wife, Laurie, as she cried: "Sometimes you'd call his name, and he'd look at you just like nothing was wrong with him."
This wasn't the first time David had wandered off, she said.
"He's gotten out several times before, and we found him around in the neighborhood. Usually, Mom catches him as soon as he walks out of the house."
This time, David was playing in a fenced-in back yard when the other children at the cookout returned to the house. Mary Kern noticed David was missing and went to look for him.
The search, which involved firefighters and police, was conducted over a 5-mile radius of where the boy disappeared. Helicopters, using infrared cameras, took part in the effort.
The boy was drawn to water. Sometimes he splashed his hands in the toilet. He had been known to overflow the bathtub.
Monday morning, Jennifer Hickerson and Sherri Goodwin stood outside the Kern home and talked about the boy they knew.
"He loved the water," Hickerson said. "If he got outside, that's immediately where he would go."
Added Goodwin: "He was just a good little kid."
A neighbor, Rhonda Johnson, grieved with the rest of the neighborhood Monday. "Kids just drown in ponds," she lamented.
Johnson baby-sits an autistic child and knows they can be a handful. Autism is a mental disorder characterized by an inability to communicate and interact socially.
"They'll run," Johnson said. "You just never know what they're going to do."
