Autistic Foster Child Mourned After Fatal Fall in Pond

Three months  shy of her 10^th birthday, Ariyanna Pivachek will long be remembered by the deputies, divers and citizens who desperately searched for the autistic child before she was found dead April 7 at the bottom of a pond.

A foster child from Brandon, Pivachek reportedly was found 15 feet from the shore in water approximately 6- to 8-feet deep.

The 50-foot pond, at the rear of 11159 Golden Silence Drive in Riverview, was likely an attraction to the child, who was the house to attend a party, according to Larry McKinnon, a spokesperson for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

“We know that children who are autistic typically have a strong interest and attraction to water,” McKinnon said in an interview April 9.  “And we know they are wanderers. They will get out and wander.”

Indeed, that reportedly is what the child did, after she arrived at the party, in the Summerfield area of Riverview, with about eight other children, all of whom were said to be under the supervision of at least eight adults.

“They noticed her missing almost right away, the pond is only 50 feet from the back door,” McKinnon said. “She was gone only a few minutes.”

Pivachek reportedly was picked up at her foster home on Greenview Drive in Brandon by a family who was considering her adoption. She was taken the family's Riverview home in a Summerfield subdivision, where she was reported to be discovered missing at around 3:10 p.m.

She was reported found at 6:46 p.m.

“When they found her in the pond, deceased, it was very emotional for everybody, very disturbing,” McKinnon said. “We were just hoping for a different outcome.”

• Sign and view the guest book at legacy.com for Ariyanna Pivachek.

Authorities said they received word of the incident at 3:33 p.m.

“We had deputies, who the minute they got out there started taking off their gun holsters so they could jump in the water to search for her,” McKinnon said. “But the water was so murky and dark and deep they were unable to find her.”

Then, the divers came, aided by “a lot of citizens and canine making a desperate effort to find her,” McKinnon said. “Greyhounds, aviation, volunteers. Everywhere we could think of was being searched.”

According to the report, the sheriff’s office “launched an immediate search with assistance from approximately 50 deputies, bloodhounds, helicopters and marine divers.” The sheriff’s office “issued bulletins through the reverse 911 systems and countless citizen volunteers came out and assisted in the search.”

The search area included many ponds, often deep and with zero visibility, McKinnon said.

“Most of those ponds out there have steep slopes off the edge,” he added. “So, the moment she steps off the shore line into the water she’s immediately going to slide into deep water.”

Pivachek reportedly was found in water 6- to 8-feet deep.

“When they found her in the pond, deceased, it was very emotional for everybody, very disturbing,” he said. “We were just hoping for a different outcome.”

The preliminary cause of death appears to be accidental, with a final ruling to be determined by the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office.

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Related Coverage:

• A report posted by the Tampa Bay Times on April 8 notes that comments from neighbors and that the people renting the home cared for children with special needs and had been considering adopting Pivachek.