Missing 9-year-old boy with autism found dead in park pool

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (KTLA) -- Police on Monday said they are seeking information in the disappearance of a 9-year-old boy with autism whose body was found in park swimming pool in Inglewood hours after he was reported missing.

Zavire Dion Portis was last seen alive around shortly before 4 p.m. Sunday, when he walked away from his mother's car, which was parked at Edward Vincent Park at 700 E. Warren Ln., according to an Inglewood Police Department statement.

The woman told police she was with her three children and had stopped the car to get a drink from a water fountain.

"When she went back to the car, the other siblings told her that the child had wandered off," Inglewood Police Lt. Neal Cochran said.

A search for the missing boy began immediately, and the effort included patrol, air and K-9 units.

Around 9:30 p.m., park patrons discovered a child's body in a closed pool on the park's premises and alerted patrol units, according to the police statement.

Cochran told KTLA on Sunday that the boy's body was spotted at the bottom of the pool by a group of neighborhood children.

Homicide detectives have been brought in to investigate. The incident appears to be an accident, but a full investigation was necessary to rule out the possibility of foul play, Cochran explained.