On September 12, 2024, 8-year-old Lionel Ramirez Cervantes tragically drowned after fleeing Bells Crossing Elementary School in Simpsonville, South Carolina.

Lionel was last seen around 11 a.m. near the school’s playground. Reports say he ran away while accompanied by three staff members and two other students. Despite attempts to stop him, Lionel got away, prompting a search by the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office.

At 2:10 p.m., the sheriff’s office asked community members to remain in their cars, as scent-tracking dogs were on the ground. Just after 3 p.m., Lionel’s body was found in a pond off Lenox Lake Drive, not far from the school.

Dive teams located the young boy in the water, and the sheriff’s department expressed heartbreak over the outcome. Victim support coordinators were assigned to help the grieving family.

Lionel’s mother, Dalia Cervantes, a single mother of five, shared her devastation online. “He was discovered in a nearby creek a few hours later,” she wrote. “I know he’s in a better place, but my boy didn’t have to die this way.”

She also suggested negligence was to blame, adding, “I watched the video, and it doesn’t excuse what they did.”

The tragedy has sparked outrage and sorrow throughout the community, raising questions about school safety and supervision.

“Peace be with you, Lionel Ramirez Cervantes,” one post read, echoing the pain felt by many.