Toddler drowns in Thatcher irrigation Pipe

August 13, 2018  •   Nelson Phillips   •  Staff Writer

A press release issued late Monday night by the Box Elder County Sheriff's Department has confirmed that a 16-month-old Thatcher boy has died after drowning in a body of water.

"At approximately 9:00 p.m. a call came in to Box Elder Communications that there was a missing boy. At first it was reported that he was three years of age but later determined he was 16 months old. At the time it was feared he had fallen into the canal near the residence," wrote Chief Deputy Dale Ward.

After multiple public safety agencies responded, and a request made to the canal company to divert flows and lower the water level in the canal, the boy was found deceased in a "body of water located east of the residence" at about 9:45 p.m.

Ward stated that no further information was available, but that the Sheriff's office would be releasing more details on Tuesday.

Update to story 8/14/2018

New information released on Tuesday, August 14 has clarified what happened to the child.

According to Chief Deputy Dale Ward of the Box Elder County Sheriff's Department, at 9:00 p.m. on Monday, Keith Weaver of Thatcher advised dispatchers that his 16-month-old son Jackson Weaver was missing, stating he had been playing in the yard with his brothers just prior to them noticing he was gone.

The Weaver home is situated near both an irrigation canal and an adjacent irrigation ditch just north of the Thatcher/Penrose Fire Department. The search began near the canal, and the canal company was contacted to shut down the water.

"Mr. Weaver started looking in the area of a water diversion structure that diverts the irrigation water from an open ditch into a 12 inch PVC pipe system. This pipe runs both below and above ground and makes several turns to provide water to neighboring fields," wrote Ward. "Mr. Weaver then followed the pipe until it came back above ground and started taking apart the pipe sections at the joints. He found Jackson inside the pipe about 530 yards from the opening near the home."

Emergency personnel responded to Weaver's location, but discovered that Jackson was deceased.

​The Sheriff's Department has determined that Jackson Weaver's death was a "tragic accident," and no foul play of any kind is suspected.