Body of missing 8-year-old found by dive team in Greenville Co.

GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – The body of an 8-year-old child who went missing from an Upstate elementary school was found Thursday afternoon in a nearby pond.

The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said the body of Lionel Ramirez Cervantes was found in a pond shortly after 3 p.m.

Ramirez Cervantes was last seen around 11:10 a.m. at Bell’s Crossing Elementary School.

According to Greenville County Schools, Ramirez Cervantes was in a classroom with two other students and three staff members when he ran out of the room and then the building. He then ran off school property. The district said staff members chased after Ramirez Cervantes, but they lost sight of him when he ran into a grassy field.

Ramirez Cervantes’ body was found by a dive team in a pond near Lake Lennox Drive about four hours later. It is not yet known how he ended up there.

“A lot of broken hearts in the school and this community today,” Sheriff Hobart Lewis said. “We want to thank this community that came out to look for this young man. We had numerous volunteers show up try to help search the woods to locate him.”

Law enforcement agencies from across the Upstate helped search for Ramirez Cervantes, including SLED and the FBI. Many community members also helped look through the neighborhoods surrounding the school.

Greenville County Schools Superintendent Dr. Burke Royster said counselors will be available for students and staff at Bell’s Crossing Elementary.

“Words are just not sufficient to describe this tragedy,” Royster said. “Our hearts and prayers are with this family, this community, with this school community.”

“This was our worst fear today, and we are grieving as a community,” Chris Ross, the principal of Bell’s Crossing Elementary School said. “We are devastated to lose one of our children. We will bind together with the support of the district. It’s a tragedy we can’t make sense over.”

Sheriff Lewis said there was no indication at this time that any charges would be filed in the case.

BELOW: The Greenville Co. Sheriff and Greenville County Schools superintendent hold news conference after the body of Lionel Ramirez Cervantes was found.

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