On December 25, 2025, Volusia County deputies raced to a pond in Deltona and pulled a 6-year-old boy with autism from chest-deep water, footage released by the sheriff’s office shows. The images are chilling but the outcome was what every American prays for in a crisis: a child brought home safe because brave public servants answered the call.
This was no isolated incident — it was the second time the same child, identified by deputies as Coco, had to be rescued from a pond after he slipped away from his home; the first rescue occurred on August 7, 2024, when deputies found the boy hanging onto a log and carried him to safety. The earlier bodycam footage reminded everyone that danger can come in a heartbeat and that preparedness matters for families with vulnerable children.
Video from the recent rescue shows the sheriff’s helicopter crew helping to locate Coco and deputies approaching cautiously because he is nonverbal and known to be attracted to water; authorities say he was cold but unharmed and had been taking swimming lessons since the 2024 incident. These are the kind of facts that should steer policy: practical, targeted precautions instead of grandstanding.
Make no mistake, the footage is a tribute to training and professionalism. Deputies who have received Autism Awareness training moved deliberately, calm under pressure, and saved a young life — exactly the reason communities rely on trained law enforcement rather than theory and slogans. Conservatives should applaud that competence and reject the cynical calls to defund or demoralize the men and women who run toward danger.
Officials said deputies discussed simple, effective steps with the family — improved home precautions and keeping a GPS tracker like AngelSense on the child — common-sense tools that preserve freedom while protecting the vulnerable. This is the conservative prescription: support families with real resources, encourage personal responsibility, and use technology and local services to prevent tragedies before they start.
At the end of the day, this story should galvanize neighbors to watch out for one another and urge elected leaders to back law enforcement and family-focused solutions rather than one-size-fits-all government programs. Today a sheriff’s office did its job and a community got a child home; that’s the kind of local, no-nonsense competence that keeps America safe.
