ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — A man drowned after wading into a neighborhood retention pond Friday morning in unincorporated St. Charles County.
Cpl. Barry Bayles with the St. Charles County Police Department said people who were fishing called 911 at about 8:10 a.m. after seeing a man walk into a retention pond in the Walnut Creek Subdivision and never come out. Rescue crews arrived and later recovered the body of the drowning victim, a 44-year-old man with special needs, about 25 minutes later.
The man was identified as Darran Lamon Hutson, according to a St. Charles County Police Department press release.
"He came wandering down. They watched him enter the water, and everything seemed to be fine, and then, in a very quick amount of time, he seemed to be struggling. Then he went under, and he did not resurface," Bayles said.
It's a tragedy that shocked the entire St. Charles County neighborhood. A neighbor, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she was on her deck as Hutson entered the pond.
"He looked like he was just swimming, then he started to struggle, and I went out onto my dock and saw commotion between fishermen. They were telling us to call 911, so I called 911," the woman said.
Hutson's family members were already looking for him when this tragedy occurred, as he lived just around the corner in the neighborhood. According to Bayles, he has been known to wander down to the water and visit the pond in the past.
There are several "no swimming" signs placed around the retention pond. A neighbor who witnessed the incident mentioned that the pond is around 25 feet deep, with a significant drop-off. She stated that despite multiple people attempting to jump in and save Huston, the water was treacherous.
"Even the first responding officer, he got here in probably 60 seconds. He attempted to get in as well, but the silt and the depth just made it extremely hard. My heart breaks for his family. That's somebody's kid, somebody's brother, somebody's uncle. It's just sad," the neighbor said.
Bayles emphasized that ponds like that are not safe for swimming and are typically meant for fishing.
"You know you can fish in them. The HOAs in the neighborhood set the rules on those, but the majority of the time, they are not for walking in; they are not for entering into personally," said Bayles.
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