Cops: Boy, 2, drowns at park in Huntington

A 2-year-old boy drowned in a pond in Heckscher Park in Huntington Sunday morning, according to Suffolk County police.

The boy, who was at the park with his father, had fallen into the south end of the park's larger pond around 11:40 a.m., according to a Suffolk police report.

Officials say the toddler's father may have been momentarily distracted by a cellphone call, when he noticed his child was missing. The father ran to a nearby playground in the park, and when he did not spot the boy there, ran back to the pond, where he found the boy underwater, according to authorities.

When officers arrived, the boy's father had removed him from the pond and a good Samaritan was administering CPR. By the time officers from the Second Precinct transported the boy and his father to Huntington Hospital, he was pronounced dead.

The police department's homicide squad is investigating the incident, but in a statement authorities say it appears to be accidental.