An 8-year-old second grader from South Carolina, Lionel Ramirez Cervantes, tragically drowned after going missing from Bells Crossing Elementary School in Simpsonville on September 12, 2024.
Lionel was last seen around 11 a.m. after reportedly running from his classroom while accompanied by other students and staff. Despite attempts to stop him, he disappeared.
The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office launched a search, urging the community to assist by checking their property and camera footage. Sadly, around 3 p.m., Lionel’s body was found in a nearby pond off Lenox Lake Drive.
His mother, Dalia Cervantes, a single mom of five, expressed her heartbreak on Facebook: “A few hours after he went missing, he was found in a creek… Negligence caused his death. Now I am left without my Leo.”