A five-year-old boy with autism was saved from drowning in Volusia County, Florida, on Tuesday, August 6, after going missing from his home in and being found by deputies in a nearby pond.The Volusia Sheriff’s Office (VSO) said they responded to a call from the boy’s father who told them his son had “escaped the house through a second-story door, which set off an alarm.” Family and neighbors began searching immediately, and deputies arrived soon to search the house and immediate area, but they could not find the boy.“But knowing that the 5-year-old had autism and was attracted to water, deputies began checking bodies of water near the neighborhood,” VSO said. Deputies headed for a nearby pond where Deputy Wes Brough “heard a voice and spotted the boy out in the water, hanging onto a log,” they said.Footage of the rescue shows Bough wading into the water and carrying the boy out to safety.“Deputy Brough jumped into the pond and carried the boy to dry land, where he was medically cleared and returned to his family,” the sheriff’s office said. “Like all VSO deputies, Deputy Brough has received Autism Awareness Training to help prepare for a wide variety of calls involving people with autism, including missing children,” they added.According to the Autism Society of Florida, children with autism are “160 times more likely to experience nonfatal and fatal drowning than their neurotypical peers” due to their heightened attraction to water.“They love the way it shimmers, bubbles, and feels on the skin. That, paired with a lack of danger awareness, can easily lead to a lethal combination,” the organization said. Credit: Volusia Sheriff’s Office via Storyful