Tragic Drowning Death of Little 6 Year Old Andrew Hollis of Elkhart, Indiana

The flooding in our area in Elkhart and Goshen, Indiana is still causing problems for many businesses and families in the area. There is still standing water in many of the low areas and in yards. The river and creeks are very high. I shudder when I cross the bridges and see the freezing rapid moving water. I travel on the road in front of where this dear little boy drowned, several times a week to go to work. My son went to Concord Eastside School where he attended. His grandmother's house was across from the school and many of the children that he went to school with live nearby.

Andrew was playing in the back yard with his mother on this past Sunday. It was the first nice sun shiny day that we have had in several weeks. The back yard of his grandmother's house where they were playing is on the river. His mother and he went in the house to warm up and later his mother realized that he had slipped back out and was missing. She called 911 immediately and the search began.

What made it more chilling for me is that I drove right past the house on my way to an open house that we were having for our local Elkhart Art League. I always shudder when I see so much standing water in some of the low lying yards with ice in patches. They must have been playing in the yard when I was driving by.

My daughters pet dog drowned in their back field a year ago. They couldn't find him for several months and it was heart breaking. They thought he may have been stolen or ran off. I have been more concerned since this incident. I have always had a fear of water and remember 2 deaths of children when I was young. I was pulled out of creeks a couple of times by friends when I was a kid, because I couldn't swim.