Parents grieve loss of 3-year-old son found dead in Rocky Ford irrigation canal

ROCKY FORD, Colo. (KRDO) - A Rocky Ford family is grappling with profound grief after their three-year-old boy was found dead in an irrigation canal.    

The tragedy unfolded an hour and a half southeast of Colorado Springs, where a family member last saw the child around 4 a.m. Saturday.     

The parents of Amari Galan are devastated, but when they talk about what Amari was like their faces immediately lit up. They say he was a ball of energy and the most joyful 3-year-old you could imagine. They also say he loved the water.

The Rocky Ford police chief says very early on investigators focused in on the canal after multiple canine teams independently tracked Amari's scent to the water. Amari's apartment complex is around 50 feet from the irrigation canal.

The search for Amari Galan started after Rocky Ford police got a call from a family member at 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning. The police chief says Amari was last seen by a family member inside their home at around 4 a.m. that morning but they hadn't seen him since.

Amari is autistic so law enforcement knew they were searching for a boy with special needs and the police chief says they were also aware that many autistic children are drawn to water.

Immediately, the Rocky Ford police department called in reinforcement from multiple other agencies that employed canine teams, helicopters, and drones.

At around 5:00 p.m. Sunday, search and rescue members found the boy dead 16.4 miles downstream from the apartment complex.

KRDO13 asked the police chief if they believe there will be any charges or arrests in this case but he would not comment.

As painful as this is, Amari's parents say they are happy to have closure, and they're beyond grateful to all the law enforcement agencies that helped find him.