Emergency officials in Peterborough said Monday they did their best to save a small boy who drowned last week, but prevention remains the key to keeping children alive around the water.

Avrey Pringle was pulled from the Otonabee River last Thursday evening.

He had been swimming with adult relatives at 10:30 a.m. at the unsupervised beach, got caught up in the current and disappeared. Police and fire officials scoured the river, but didn't find his body until dusk. By then, it was too late.

"Unfortunately due to the length of time in the water, lifesaving efforts were not commenced and the regional Coroner’s Office was contacted to attend the scene," Peterborough Police wrote in a news release.

The boy's body had been found more than 200 metres downstream of where he had been swimming.

On a Facebook page, someone wrote: "Hunnie you will be loved by everyone in this world. We will miss you and no matter what we will always love you. You were a smile upon the sun every time you came around. We love you buddy."
 
On Saturday, a Toronto toddler died in her family's backyard pool.

In a sad twist, Saturday marked the start of National Drowning Prevention Week.

The best way for parents to prevent their toddlers from drowning is to keep them within arm's reach, said a water safety expert.

Barb Byers of the Lifesaving Society told CTV Toronto that toddlers' lack of fear around water, combined with the fact that a drowning can silently occur within 20 seconds, makes for a dangerous mix.

"If there's water nearby, they're going to want to be there," she said Sunday. "And unless you're right there beside them, you're not going to be able to see them."

Police recommend parents make their children wear life preservers around the water.

The society also offers the following pool safety tips on its website:

  • watch children carefully when they are playing with inflatable pool toys
  • restrict access to your backyard pool
  • keep pool chemical products away from children
  • drain wading pools after use; it only takes a few centimetres of water to drown a child

Drowning is the second leading cause of death in children under age 10. Only auto accidents take more children's lives, the society said.

Byers said this year's hot summer is causing a spike in drowning deaths.

So far this year, Ontario has experienced 65 drowning deaths, compared to 55 for all of 2009. Nationally, 197 people have died, compared to 163 in 2009.

With reports from CTV Toronto’s Paul Bliss and Janice Golding