TRENT SAILERS - 1 yo - Holiday (suburb of Tampa) FL

Investigation ongoing in death of Pasco toddler


According
to deputies, the toddler was found submerged in the pond, wearing only a
diaper. A neighbor went out in the pond on a surfboard and found the
boy's body, officials said.



By Jason Lanning , Reporter
Last Updated: Thursday, July 26, 2012 @ 09:18AM

• Aunt of toddler found dead responds
  

HOLIDAY --
Deputies
in Pasco County are trying to determine how a toddler went missing from
his home Wednesday and ended up dead in a retention pond near his home.

Trent
Sailers, who was a month shy of his second birthday, went missing in
the 1600 block of Paragon Place in Holiday around 3 p.m. He was found
dead in the pond across the street from his home at 9 p.m.

Family
members and neighbors are mourning the boy's death but some also are
upset, saying the boy's mother, Toni Wayman, may not have kept a close
enough watch on her son.

Relatives told Bay News 9
the boy's mother may have been sleeping when the boy managed to get
away. A neighbor said the mother may have had a teenager helping her
watch the child, but officials have not confirmed that.

"It is
very horrible when you sleep all day and you can't watch your kids,"
said Cheryl Reel, the boy's aunt. "I don't care if you work third shift
or not, you should be able to stay awake with your kids."

According
to deputies, the toddler was found submerged in the pond, wearing only a
diaper. A neighbor went out in the pond on a surfboard and found the
boy's body, officials said.

Pasco Sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll
said the investigation is ongoing and they have not confirmed if the
mother was sleeping when the boy got out of the house. There are no
charges pending.

"At this point, we're just doing the death investigation,'' Doll said. "We are not commenting on if there will be any charges.''

http://www.theledger.com/article/20120726/NEWS/120729494/1002/SPORTS?Title=Pasco-Toddler-Found-Dead-in-Retention-Pond

Holiday toddler found in pond slipped away while adults napped

HOLIDAY

All of the adults at the house were asleep when Trent
Sailers, nearly 2, with a blond mohawk, blue eyes and a love of the
outdoors, slipped outside Wednesday afternoon and wandered to his death.
He was found, wearing only a diaper, in the lake in front of his home.

"I feel like it's my fault," said Mike Bogue, 18, who lives at the house
on Paragon Place with Trent's mother, Toni Wayman, 23, and three other
adults and three other children, ages 2, 1 and 3 months. The group of
friends moved into the 1,500-square-foot house about a month ago. Wayman
works the 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. shift at 7-Eleven and, Bogue said, had been
up all day Wednesday with her son, who finally went to sleep around 3
p.m. Wayman decided to take a nap, too. When first interviewed Thursday
morning, Bogue said Wayman asked him to watch Trent in case he woke up.
Later, Bogue said she never asked him. Regardless, there was a point
Wednesday where Bogue decided to also take a nap.
He felt it was safe.

"All the doors were locked," said Bogue, as he sat at the edge of the lake
Thursday near where Trent was found. Someone had placed a pale rose at
the site. Bogue struggled to not cry.

He said he woke up at nearly 6 p.m. Wednesday hearing Wayman screaming: "Where is my baby? Where is my baby?"
Wayman could not be reached by the Times Thursday.

"She is lost," Bogue said. "She is not the same person. She doesn't know
where she is now. She literally lost the only thing she had."

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office said it is investigating Trent's death. No
charges have been filed. Sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said Wayman had
no history of being investigated for child neglect or similar charges.

Bogue said their home was not a party house and that Wayman was "a great mom."

"She goes to work and comes home," Bogue said.

Trent's father, 23-year-old Terry Sailers, is serving a four-year sentence in
Peoria, Ill., for residential burglary. His mother, Lucinda Hartman, 45,
said Wayman and Trent lived with her in Port Richey until recently.
Hartman said she begged Wayman to stay because she worried for the
toddler's safety.

"Toni slept all the time," Hartman said. But she said Wayman adored her son.
"Toni loved him," Hartman said. "I know she loved him."

She said Trent was a sweet, happy boy who loved being outside; fishing,
riding his little bike, going to the park. He especially loved water.
Hartman said she removed her pool because she was scared of Trent
drowning.

Wayman's neighbors said they've previously seen the children outside unsupervised.
The adults "are always sleeping and the babies are always outside running," said neighbor Caroline Nemeth, 65.

Victoria Carrasquillo, 40, said she found Trent on her doorstep last week. He
was barefoot, his shoes kicked off in the yard. She had never seen him before.

"Who are you with?" Carrasquillo said, scooping up the
boy. He didn't seem scared. Carrasquillo said she carried him around to
her neighbors, asking if they knew who he belonged to. Then, she said,
Bogue ran toward her, frantic, and said the boy had gotten away from
him.

"What is wrong with you?" Carrasquillo said she shouted, pointing to Angel Lake, the pond across the street.
"There is water in front of the house," she yelled. "You have to be more careful."

"I'm sorry," she said the young man told her before he took Trent home.
Carrasquillo considered calling the authorities, but then decided
against it. Maybe it was just one mistake, she thought.

Then there was a pounding at her door Wednesday night. It was Bogue again, she said.
"Have you seen the baby? He's lost again," Bogue asked, according to Carrasquillo.
"Are you kidding me?" Carrasquillo shouted.

"No," she said Bogue told her. "He got away."

"I cannot believe this," she screamed. "Did you look in the lake?"

But Bogue said he did not lose Trent last week: "No, never."

A neighbor scouring the water on a paddle board Wednesday night found the
little boy with his oar, in a muddy corner covered with algae.
"It's so devastating," Carrasquillo said Thursday.

Theentire neighborhood seemed to be involved in the search, combing the
streets, allowing deputies to search their homes. They saw his little
body on the shore covered with a yellow blanket and saw his mother,
Wayman, lying in the street screaming for her son. Most slept little
that night and, on Thursday, were left shaken and wondering how this
happened.


Mike Bogue, 18, sits at the lake where authorities found the body of
toddler Trent Sailers, who had wandered away from his house.
Bogue was a housemate of Trent’s mother, Toni Wayman, 23,
and three other adults in Holiday.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/holiday-toddler-found-in-pond-slipped-away-while-adults-napped/1242294

Such a tragedy. I can't imagine the mother's loss.