EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — A tragic end to the search for a missing boy with autism.
Eden Prairie police say 11-year-old Mohamed Mohamed went missing Sunday night.
Officials say the search was called off after a child's body was found a few hours later in a pond near Mohamed's home. It's the second similar incident in just a few months.
Back in June, officials say a Hopkins boy with autism, 4-year-old Waeys Ali Mohamed, drowned in a creek.
Ellie Wilson with the Autism Society of Minnesota says children with autism are often drawn to water.
“There is a really important statistical connection between the existence of autism and the likelihood of accidents relating to drowning,” Wilson said.
"It is the most common cause of death among autistic children."
Wilson says children with autism are drawn to water because of the visuals, the movement, and the way it makes them feel.
"Think of the last time you dove into a pool that that feeling of pressure you feel around your body is somewhat of a weighted blanket for someone with autism.”
Wilson says there is an even greater concern in the Somali community.
She says data suggests Somali children are more likely to be diagnosed with autism.
"Even as high some will say as one in sixteen, which is nearly double the rate it is in the mainstream group,” Wilson said.
Jaylani Hussein with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says the Somali community is deeply concerned after two drowning cases in just four months.
"The impact of autism on our community is extremely high,” Hussein said.
He says parent groups are already discussing ideas to improve safety, such as increased access to swimming lessons, signs that warn the community a child with autism lives nearby, and resources for parents so they can secure their homes.
"Basic home modifications, things like alarms or even locks on doors and windows are a very popular thing to talk about,” Wilson says.
Wilson agrees, that all communities need to have a serious discussion, so parents, leaders and law enforcement have the tools they need to keep children safe.
"One of the biggest things we have to do is just talk about is as a community."