The young boy who fell through the ice at a Lansdowne pond and later died last week will be buried Friday.
Kyron Lee Aikens, 13, died after being submerged for more than an hour despite his friends bystanders efforts to save him. A team of divers and other rescuers searched through the murky water to locate Aikens but he later died at the hospital.
Three other boys, Chive Omar Benjamin, 12, and Junior Wilbert Thomas, 8, of Columbia and Jujuan Wilder, 12, of Brooklyn Park, also fell into the pond at Hillcrest Park, behind Lansdowne High School in Baltimore County on Jan. 25. Two of the boys managed to climb out of the water on their own. Chive Benjamin was rescued by two bystanders.
County officials said the pond does have signs warning against swimming, skating or walking on ice, and that such activities are banned at ponds in county parks.
But Aikens family says the signs aren't enough to keep children off the pond, which a fire officials said they respond at least once a year for similar rescues. Aikens mother, Rhyanna Cleckley, said she wants to see a fence to prevent future tragedies.
Cleckley said her son was a sixth-grader at Lakeland Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore who loved wrestling and "Godzilla" movies.
His funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Cherry Hill Community Presbyterian Church in Baltimore followed by a burial at the Cedar Hill Cemetery in Suitland.
Meanwhile, the mother of Chive Benjamin says her son is starting to make a miraculous recovery.
The boy remained hospitalized Thursday with tubes in his nose and neck, but doctors are hoping to take those out soon, and Chive's mother says he's starting to get better.
Benjamin says she hasn't yet told Chive about Kyron's death, saying doctors fear it could set his recovery back.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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