News Releases

Montgomery Village Drowning Ruled Accidental

For Immediate Release: Monday, June 5, 2017

Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Department – Major Crimes Division have been investigating the June 2 death of a 22-month-old boy that occurred at a lake in Montgomery Village.  The boy is identified as Malik Bojang of the 18700 block of Pier Point Place in Gaithersburg.  Today, investigators are releasing the results of an autopsy that was conducted in Baltimore by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME).  The OCME ruled Bojang’s cause of death as an accidental drowning.

On Friday, June 2 at approximately 7:31 p.m., the Emergency Communication Center (ECC) received a 9-1-1 call from Bojang’s adult family member who was reporting him missing from the Lake Whetstone Park located at 18701 Montgomery Village Avenue.  As 6th District officers and Fire and Rescue personnel were responding to the park, ECC received a second call from a resident who had located Bojang face down and unresponsive in the water.  Bojang was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

The investigation by detectives has determined that Bojang was with an adult family member at a tot lot playground at the park.  Other families and children were also at the playground.  At approximately 7:31 p.m., the family member noticed that Bojang was no longer present in the playground area and called to report him as missing.

The Montgomery County Police Department offers the following water safety tips:

• Never leave children unattended around any body of water (bathtubs, pools, ornamental backyard ponds, etc.).
• Learn to swim. But remember – even good swimmers can drown.
• Learn CPR.
• Pay attention to local weather conditions and forecasts.
• Watch out for the “dangerous too’s” (…too tired, too cold, too far from safety, too much sun, too much strenuous activity.)
• Always have a phone.
• Know where your children are at all times.
• Don’t rely on substitutes. The use of floatation devices and inflatable toys cannot replace parental supervision. Such devices could suddenly shift position, lose air, or slip out from underneath, leaving the child in a dangerous situation.

RLG

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Release ID: 17-153
Media Contact: mcpnews 
Categories: death-investigation