Brothers, ages 4 and 9, drown in Las Animas County pond
The Las Animas County Sheriff’s Office says two boys drowned Friday after falling through the ice on a pond in Weston.
The boys were identified Monday as brothers Jorge Pancho-Garcia, 9, and Orlando Pancho-Garcia, 4.
Weston is located off of Highway 12 about 23 miles west of Trinidad. The pond is located on the Robinson Sawmill property off County Road 31.9
The boys’ parents, Silvino Garcia and Catalina Pancho, who do not speak English, told KRDO NewsChannel 13 the boys were home alone when it happened. Garcia was working at the nearby sawmill and heard his 2-year-old daughter cry. He later found out she saw her brothers drown. Garcia said by the time he got to the pond, it was too late.
“But they weren’t alive. They were already dead,” Garcia said, in Spanish.
Las Animas County Coroner Dominic Verquer was one of the first responders on the scene. “We worked hard on those kids to get ’em,” Verquer said. “We worked hard trying to bring them back.”
The pond is located across from the Pancho-Garcia’s home. The family has been living there for eight years. “I didn’t know there was water there. I never went over there,” Pancho said.
Law enforcement officials warn bodies of water may look frozen, but it can be misleading.
“I would caution that we just stay completely off the waterways,” said Las Animas County Undersheriff Derek Navarette.
The Sheriff’s Office responded to the call at around 3:30 p.m. Friday. When deputies arrived at 3:48 p.m., Trinidad Ambulance District personnel had already pulled the boys from the water and were trying to resuscitate them.
The boys were rushed to Mt. San Rafael Hospital. Doctors worked for several hours to try to save them. They were pronounced dead Friday evening.
KRDO NewsChannel 13 asked district attorney Frank Ruybalid if any charges will be filed in this case. “As of this point, I have not received the Sheriff’s Dept. reports on the deaths yet, so I really can’t say whether any criminal charges would be appropriate,” he said.
The drowning remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office.
