COLUMBUS — A 2-year-old boy who had been missing for hours from a Columbus apartment complex was found dead Sunday afternoon in a retention pond on the property, authorities said. Beeny Mbo was reported missing at 10:03 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, from the Polaris Place apartment complex in the 900 block of Antar Place, near Polaris Parkway.
Columbus police searched the area for several hours, with a helicopter overhead, before a police dive team recovered the boy’s body from the pond at 3:46 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The Franklin County Coroner’s Office issued a preliminary ruling of apparent drowning, pending a complete autopsy.
The toddler was last seen in the area of Antares Avenue and Polaris Parkway, wearing a gray shirt and gray pants, and was reported to be without shoes, police said. Columbus Division of Police Sgt. James Fuqua said there was no fencing around the retention pond where the boy’s body was found.
Police are continuing to investigate how the 2-year-old, who was about 3 feet tall and weighed about 30 pounds, was able to leave his family’s apartment.
The tragedy comes as Columbus police continue investigating two separate incidents across the city this weekend, and residents in the Polaris area expressed grief at the news that the hours-long search had ended in the worst possible outcome.