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Police: Pa. Boy, 4, Drowns in Farm’s Manure Pit

HOLLAND, Pa. — A central Pennsylvania child is dead after authorities say he drowned in a manure pit on the family farm.

New Holland police say 4-year-old Josiah Martin was found face-down Saturday in the 8-foot-deep pit by his mother, who pulled the boy out and called 911. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officer Troy Deshong tells the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era the liquid in the manure pit was partially frozen. He says the boy’s mother suspected the child may have been trying to retrieve a wayward dog that had wandered on to the ice.

Authorities say the pit is surrounded by a chain-link fence. The boy’s death has been ruled accidental.