2 young children found inside pickup in Arkansas pond die; 2 arrested

Jonathan Daniel Welborn, 30, and Brittany Nichole Hairston, 26, both of Benton
Jonathan Daniel Welborn, 30, and Brittany Nichole Hairston, 26, both of Benton

PARON -- Two young children drowned after the truck they were left alone in rolled across a state highway and into a pond Wednesday night, Saline County sheriff's office arrest records show.

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Jonathan Daniel Welborn, 30, and Brittany Nichole Hairston, 26, face charges of first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor after deputies said the pair left a 2-year-old girl and a 6-month-old boy in the truck.

Two Saline County sheriff's deputies were still investigating the scene Thursday afternoon in front of a wooden shack surrounded by cars, all-terrain vehicles and overgrown plants.

Across the street, the land slopes downward toward the small pond where deputies found the truck Wednesday night. A horse and donkey grazed in the long grass surrounded by a barbed-wire fence, a 10-foot section of which was missing and had been replaced with yellow police tape near the road.

Renee Garrett said she saw the ambulances Wednesday night and was concerned something had happened to her brother-in-law, who lives next door to her on property that includes the pond.

"We heard lots of noises and stuff here last night," Garrett said. "We didn't know what was going on. You hate to hear anything like that happen."

Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to 16956 Arkansas 298 at 9:44 p.m. Wednesday regarding a report of a missing truck with two children inside. The address is about 3 miles from where Welborn and Hairston said they live just outside of Benton, according to Welborn's arrest report and a Saline County sheriff's office news release. It was unclear who called police.

As deputies traveled to the scene, dispatchers learned the truck had been found in a pond across the road from the house.

When deputies arrived, Welborn was standing next to the pond and the truck was submerged entirely in the water with its lights on.

Emergency workers found Sofia Welborn, who had turned 2 only 13 days prior, and Zane Welborn strapped in their car seats, according to the arrest report. Neither child was breathing, and neither had a pulse, according to the arrest report. Emergency workers tried to revive them but were unsuccessful.

The children were transported to Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, where they were pronounced dead.

Sheriff's deputies interviewed Welborn, Hairston and two witnesses and determined the couple had left the children alone in the truck for about 30 minutes. Deputies were told Welborn and Hairston were playing pool inside the house when the truck rolled across the highway and into the pond, according to the arrest report.

Welborn and Hairston were arrested around midnight and booked into the jail by about 5 a.m. Reports indicate they could face additional charges pending further investigation.

Metro on 06/30/2017

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