PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — The body of a 6-year-old Georgia boy who has been missing since Monday was found on a Florida Panhandle beach near the hotel where his family was staying, authorities said.
Enrique Cortez-Dubon, of Atlanta, was found on the sand at Panama City Beach at about 4 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, Panama City Beach spokesperson Debbie Ward told WTVM. He was found about 1.5 miles from the hotel, the television station reported.
“Of course, this is not the outcome we would have wanted, but it is some closure for the family,” Police Chief J.R. Talamantez said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. “Our hearts are broken for this family. We know they are grieving and our prayers are with them.”
The boy went missing Monday at about 11:30 a.m. CDT near the Shores of Panama hotel, the Panama City News-Herald reported. According to police, Cortez-Dubon was standing in about knee-deep water and was not wearing floaties, the newspaper reported.
“This is nobody’s fault,” Talamantez said during the news conference. “It was an accident. A horrible accident.”
Police did not immediately release a cause of death but said earlier Tuesday that evidence suggested the boy, who did not swim well, went into the water, WTVM reported.
A GoFundMe has been set up to assist Cortez-Dubon’s family with funeral expenses.