Escambia Sheriff's Release: On Wednesday, August 28, shortly after 5:30p.m., Escambia Sheriff Dispatchers received a call of a possible drowning in the 16,000 block of Betmark Rd.
According to witnesses, a neighbor discovered the lifeless body of a 14-month–old child in a landscaping pond after he was alerted by one of the child’s siblings.
Emergency responders arrived and attempted rescue efforts; however, the child was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at a local hospital.
Jennifer Lynn Eiland, 31, is charged with four counts of child neglect and is currently being held in the Escambia County Jail with no bond.
The four counts of child neglect include one count for each of the surviving children. The investigation of the drowning remains ongoing; however initial reports indicate that Eiland has had prior abuse allegations in another state.
According to investigators, the children, whose ages range from three to eight, had been placed in foster care and were only returned to the care of their mother in recent months.
Further investigation also revealed unsanitary living conditions in the Betmark Road home where Eiland and her children were living at the time of the drowning.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Escambia deputies investigate drowning of 14-month-old child